WORKERS made redundant from a North-East electronics plant are being offered help to find jobs.

Cookson Fakuda, which makes copper foil for printed circuit boards, announced last week it was cutting 74 jobs at its plant in Shiremoor, North Tyneside. The group blamed the redundancies on competition from Asia.

Jobcentre Plus bosses yesterday unveiled measures to help the workers find new employment.

Vince Robinson, the regional director of Jobcentre Plus North East, said: "This is obviously a very bitter blow for the workers, their families and the local economy, but we are now looking at the practical support that we can offer people who have lost their jobs."

His staff will set up a temporary job shop at the plant today, which will run for the rest of the week.

Workers can have a skills audit and extra training to find another job.

Similar measures are under way at other Tyneside plants with planned job cuts, including Youngs Seafoods, in Gosforth, Amec, in Wallsend, and Circatex, in South Tyneside.