A Task group has been set up in South Tyneside to tackle the shortage of skilled call centre workers and to prepare for a boom across the borough.

The economic development team at South Tyneside Council has been fielding calls from firms outside the region inquiring about sites for call centres and the availability of skilled workers.

The new Call Centre Task Group is made up of representatives from the council, business support agency TEDCO, the Employment Service, South Tyneside College, the Training and Enterprise Network (TEN) and Tyneside Training and Enterprise Council.

They have drawn up a new training package that in the short term will help unemployed people find jobs in call centre hotspots like Sunderland and North Tyneside, and long term will create a ready workforce to take up jobs with inward investors in the industry to South Tyneside. A recent series of pilot training schemes, managed by TEDCO, resulted in nearly 100 per cent of students going on to find full-time employment.

This success has spurred on the task force to implement a full training programme.

Funds have been secured and plans are under way to extend the training over a period of two years.

Tailor-made training courses for companies planning to set up in the borough and create jobs are also being developed.

The task group is also offering links with organisations in South Tyneside which can help unemployed people who take up train- ing.

This could be help with travel expenses in the early stages of employment and could even contribute to the cost of buying people suitable workwear.

Councillor Jim Harper, lead member for regeneration with South Tyneside Council, said: "We have a number of sites across the borough that are perfect for the call centre industry and in many cases are ready to move into."

There are existing plans for a designed call centre on the Viking Industrial Estate in Jarrow, one of the last available Enterprise Zone sites, offering rate free accommodation until 2006 as well as 100 per cent capital tax allowances.

Further land at East Simonside is awaiting development and is in a prime location for transport and proximity to the main population centres.

New business units are also under construction on the site of the former Monkton Coke Works.

The Harton Quay site in South Shields town centre is under development and could offer a prime location for an inward investor.

For more information about employment opportunities and potential development sites in South Tyneside contact Guy Currey at South Tyneside MBC Economic Development Team on 0191-424 7579