THEY are already jobless through no fault of their own but are now being denied their last hope.

Hundreds of unemployed people are desperate to retrain or get official qualifications at Swindon College while they wait for the recession to pass.

But the door is shut for about 480 people on the college’s waiting list who have been out of work for less than six months. The college desperately wants to run extra courses to cope with the huge flood of demand caused by the recession.

But unless it can persuade the Government to take pity on Swindon and provide funding for courses, it will be forced to turn hundreds away.

“I feel very frustrated,” said the college’s director of employer engagement Evelyn Little.

“We have to think about these people – they are shell shocked. They have been doing a good job for a long time and now their livelihood is gone.

“There are 480 people we cannot help. Other colleges are too far away for them to travel to. The trade skills people want are only offered here.”

The future also hangs in the balance for another 300 16 to 18 year olds in the town who are also on a waiting list.

But the college is more hopeful that the Government will provide funding for them, which is about £4,000 per student.

“We are fighting to keep the door open,” said the college’s director of marketing, Amanda Burnside, “The town has been so badly hit with 6,000 unemployed. Swindon is a special case.

“People want to use the time they are unemployed to get skills and we are well placed to train them.

“It is ironic, as this is the perfect opportunity for people to improve their CV for when we come out of the recession.

“We are not looking for a profit – we just need to break even.”

The college wants to run extra courses in the summer to meet demand but costs could run up to £700,000. Its trade courses, including plumbing and carpentry, are expensive to run as they require specialist equipment and space. All the student applications are on hold until the college finds out whether it will get the money.

The college has asked South Swindon MP Anne Snelgrove for urgent help and she is planning to argue the case to ministers.

Mrs Snelgrove said: “I am really very concerned to learn of the difficulties the college is experiencing in getting funding for so many vocational courses that would help Swindon’s unemployed.

“The great thing about this is people in Swindon want to expand their skills. But the frustrating thing is we don’t have enough courses for them at the moment.

“Swindon has been recognised as an unemployment hotspot. I hope we will be able to do something.

“North Swindon MP Michael Wills is working on this as well.”

She pointed out that the college had lost funding because it needed to improve in certain areas, and that is now being done.