IT may only be three years old, but there were more than 100 candles on the cake, when the Galleries Training and Employment Link (G-Tel) celebrated its birthday.

Since it was opened in 1999 by local MP Joyce Quinn, G-Tel, which is run by the North-East Chamber of Commerce, has helped more than 130 New Deal participants back into work.

Based at the Galleries Shopping Centre in Washington, it helps people to find opportunities in the retail sector through onsite training, along with offering advice on interview techniques, CV writing and filling in application forms.

One of the first people to find work through the scheme was Alan Dunn, from Harraton in Washington.

After a six-week training programme in 2000, G-Tel helped Mr Dunn to find a job as an administration officer with the Employment Service in Washington, where he still works.

He was joined in the birthday celebrations by Hazel Lister, 20, of Columbia in Washington, who found a job at the Lloyds Pharmacy in the Galleries Shopping centre through G-Tel. For more information call Nicola Rowley on Tel: 0191-418 7388.