LIGHT is at last emerging amidst the gloom that has enveloped Angola over the past three decades, as the country strives to rebuild its civil war-ravaged economy, and it is pleasing to report that an initiative involving a Scottish college is helping to provide a beacon of hope.

City of Glasgow College has gone into partnership with some of the world's largest multinational companies under an initiative to train Angolans for a career in the maritime industry, with Scots officials helping to create a new £110 million training facility there. Staff from Glasgow have also developed the curriculum and are now teaching the first batch of students recruited to the centre, which will produce students to work in a number of careers in the industry, from ships' captains to engineers, navigators and deck hands. All will spend the second year of their course in Glasgow.

Modern Angola is on a journey of recovery and is now one of the fastest growing economies in the world. It is, though, still a country of extremes, with 70 per cent of the population living in abject poverty. Scotland can be proud it is playing a part in helping to give a leg-up to some of the disavantaged.