IT WILL be jobs for the boys - and girls - if Pendle can persuade the government to part with some cash.

Experts from industry and the council are attempting to get a £12 million investment in the area to improve job and training prospects for teenagers.

Currently, one in three people between the ages of 16 and 24, are without work, making Pendle the youth unemployment blackspot of the north west.

The government cash is held in the Single Regeneration Budget Challenge Fund, and will account for a quarter of the transaction.

The main aim of the project is directed at teenagers with little prospect of getting or keeping a job and those who could get into trouble.

One idea is to have self-build housing, with young people learning construction skills as they build or renovate homes for themselves.

Employers' share of the cake could come from supported placements in exchange for decent pay, training and encouraging an ethos of work among youngsters who have never had that experience.

The environment could also get a fillip, with some teenagers working on projects both in the towns and in the countryside.

Apprenticeships will also be encouraged and there could be grants and support for people wanting to start their own business.

Industrialist Dennis Mendoros, chairman of the Pendle Partnership bidding for the challenge fund cash, said: "This could be the most important initiative which Pendle Partnership has ever undertaken.

"The young people of Pendle are the community's future. Our aim is to ensure that the future is a bright one."

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