STRATHCLYDE University has agreed to a £1million deal with one of the world's biggest energy firms.

The uni is creating a training scheme for multinational Doosan Babcock Energy.

Over the three-year deal, 150 employees and new graduate recruits at the firm will be given Masters level training in the highly specialised field of power plant engineering.

The course is the first of its kind in Scotland and is one of a series of new programmes at Strathclyde's industrially-focused Graduate School of Engineering, due to be launched in October.

Professor Colin Grant, Dean of the university's Faculty of Engineering, said: "The new course is designed to meet the needs of employers in this fast-growing and changing field, as well as enabling graduate engineers to rapidly progress to the next level of their careers.

"While some industries are facing a challenging business outlook, the power engineering sector is bucking the trend and offers very attractive career paths for graduate professionals.

"The programme is the result of extensive consultation with our industrial partners."

The course was developed in partnership with the Industrial and Power Association (IPA) and Scottish Enterprise.

Other industrial contributors include ScottishPower, Sinclair Knight Merz, Mott MacDonald and Jacobs Engineering Group.

The recruits will study part-time, allowing them to get on-the-job experience.

Doosan Babcock, which employs 5000 people worldwide, recruits more than 50 graduate engineers a year to work in power plants across the globe. The new course will enable staff to complete their training much more quickly.