A MAJOR skills gap in East Lancashire is threatening the future of the local economy, an alarming report has revealed.

The area is lagging behind the rest of the country when it comes to training and graduate recruitment. And the problem is so serious the report claims it "could erode all hope of East Lancashire returning to economic wellbeing".

The gap has been highlighted by two surveys in the area into higher level skills, measuring the number of employees with qualifications such as NVQ level four or degrees.

A Higher Skills Task Force has been launched to tackle the problem by ELTEC and local further education colleges, councils and trade unions

"In the last five years this area has achieved a great deal in equipping the workforce with relevant skills.

"Unfortunately, it has not been enough to safeguard the competitiveness of our businesses," said Bill Davies, chairman of the task force.

"We have to bring the workforce, industry and training infrastructure to world-class standards."

The action plan includes increasing skills of the existing workforce and graduate recruitment, improving access to Higher Skills provision and the use of telematics for learning.

The task force is now planning to gauge the views of major local employers in the area.

"Their views and suggestions will help us to create an achievable and detailed plan of action," said Mr Davies.

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