A blueprint has been launched to marry the skills needed by employers with the CVs of future workforces.

Training organisations do not always teach young people the essential tools they need to get on in North-East industry.

The North-East's Framework for Regional Employment and Skills Action (Fresa) aims to redress that imbalance.

It is hoped the framework will help to keep graduates in the region and stop the "brain drain" to other areas of the country.

The framework is also expected to provide a mechanism through which employment and skills information, strategies and initiatives can be better aligned, coordinated and levered to the needs of employers.

Jim Lewis, of regional development agency One NorthEast, said: "Those firms which are still competitive in the region are looking for more and more advanced skills, particularly in the areas of consumer care and contact centres.

"It is no longer enough just to answer the phone, you have to be able to sell a particular product."

In July last year the Secretaries of State for Education and Skills, Trade and Industry and Work and Pensions asked the nine English regional development agencies to develop a process for discussing regional employment and skills priorities in order to achieve a healthy labour market.

The regions are to share common programmes and features but be individualised to reflect key assets, resources and priorities distinctive to each region.

The North-East identified three priorities after a wide-ranging consultation and analysis of the region's labour market.

Employers wanted to accelerate the demand for high-level skills by increasing the number of knowledge-intensive industries in the area.

That would create the development of skills in those areas to assist growing businesses.

Education bosses would also have to engage the aspirations and performance of schoolchildren from the age of 11 to improve the quality of skills future employees had to offer.

Such a move would require greater collaboration between schools and business as well as changes in the structure of the curriculum and careers advice.

There would also be a need to target improvements in basic skills for the workforce.

Despite the early success of Skills for Life campaign (the Government's strategy for improving adult literacy and numeracy skills), the region still has enormous need but limited capacity to respond to it.

Resources need to be more strongly focused to changes in the workplace.