A NEW initiative to help plug the skills gap in East Lancashire has been officially launched.

The Higher Skills Partnership has been formed by the four colleges in the area and ELTEC to offer companies a range of training programmes to take staff up to graduate level.

The training covers business areas identified by employers as vital for improving competitiveness including computer-aided design and manufacture, control systems and quality assurance.

Mark Price, chief executive of ELTEC, said: "Research showed that the existing level of job skills training in East Lancashire was not high enough to match the needs of some managers and technicians."

"With no higher education institute nearby it was hard for local business to plug this gap with graduates.

"The new partnership ensures that existing staff can be skilled up to graduate level."

As part of the initiative, Lucas Fabricated Systems and Burnley College have drawn up a training programme to help the firm as it moves into new areas of non-defence business .

Managing director Mike Gardiner said: "Training is delivered locally, is based on the practical application of job skills and is also subject to attractive grant support.

"This is the way to make training really pay."

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