A training scheme will plug a skills gap in the region's manufacturing sector.

South West Durham Training Limited, in Newton Aycliffe, is recruiting staff for one of only two recognised pattern and model making apprenticeships in the North-East.

Pattern making - the production of moulds and casts for companies to use to shape their products - has diminished over the years as work moved overseas.

Now the industry needs new skills to meet growing demand and South West Durham Training is offering a vocational programme that will develop the next generation of craftsmen.

Chief executive Bob Waller, said: "Pattern making is part of the North-East's industrial heritage but, as local companies keep telling us, there is a real gap in training that needs to be addressed."

Students on the apprenticeship will work towards NVQ and City and Guilds Level two and three qualifications and undergo between two and four years of training.

The apprenticeship has been developed by South West Durham Training in partnership with the Patternmakers and Mould Manufacturers Association, the Institute of Cast Metal Engineers and several local pattern makers.