THE chief of a new body to replace East Lancashire's Training and Enterprise Council will receive a salary of up to £85,000 a year.

Applications are being sought for an executive director of the Lancashire Learning and Skills Council which will take over from ELTEC next April.

The salary package for executive directors for the new LSCs is between £51,975 and £85,047.

Applications are also being sought for a chairman for the new body to work unpaid for around two days a month.

Lancashire's Learning and Skills Council will come into operation next April and replace part of the responsibilities of the current Training and Enterprise Council system. Despite a vigorous campaign for it to be located in East Lancashire the county's LSC will be based in Preston.

Earlier this month Government minister Malcom Wicks told North West business leaders the new set up would provide more money to tackle the skills gap in the region.

He said that that 14 per cent of employees in the North West lack the proper skills they need for their current jobs.

"That is why we must and will make radical changes to the system of post 16 learning," said Mr Wicks, speaking at conference in Manchester.

Mr Wicks said the new LSCs will have more money to help individuals learn new skills.

"Savings in bureaucracy will ensure more of this money reaches the individual learner -- almost £7million in the North West.

"The local LSCs will have considerable power to determine what happens in their own communities.

"Learning must match the skills and development needs of individuals and the LSCs will do that by planning local provision to increase choice and expand opportunities."

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