YOU can hardly turn a newspaper page these days without seeing some reference to skills shortages - particularly in the manufacturing sector.

Recently, the TUC urged the Government to make an extra £45m available to the North-East to tackle the problems, and business leaders fear that this problem could seriously jeopardise future inward investment prospects, adding to the ever widening trade gap.

Speaking with members here in County Durham it is clear that the problem needs tackling from grass roots. In other words, injecting more investment into training and encouraging more technical and engineering companies to start up in the region.

Take for example Filtronic Compound Semi-Conductors in Newton Aycliffe. Operating in a global market, it has very broad skills requirements, particularly on the technical front.

For jobs in areas such as finance, personnel and other support areas, it has no problem recruiting locally.

However, when it comes to recruiting specialist designers or process engineers, there is a shortage locally. The company has therefore had to recruit people from as far afield as China, India and the US.

For them, the problem is the reduction in the number of science and mathematics undergraduates. Interest in developing and using these skills has diminished in recent years.

If we are to change this, then we need to invest in improving the numbers of skilled, trained workers but also to start seriously looking at introducing more vocationally-led courses with more input and support from businesses.

If we don't have intellectual property invested in the region then we simply will not attract the people with the right skills, and companies like Filtronic will have to continue importing the skills they need from abroad.

l David Malkin area manager County Durham, North East Chamber of Commerce