Workers could get extra training to ease the skills shortage.
The Sector Skills Councils (SSC) have been given the first of two licences by the Sector Skills Development Agency to cover IT, telecoms and call centre staff.
Some 25 SSCs covering most areas of the economy will be in place by the end of next year.
It is hoped they will bridge the 30 per cent gap between productivity in the UK and Europe and the US.
But Business in Regeneration in Brighton has warned stimulating the smaller business sector would be a problem.
It added the SSCs were likely to be strategic bodies, meaning their success would rest on the quality of delivery agencies and the willingness of employers to participate.
Thursday April 17 2003
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