LUCRATIVE contracts on major developments such as Heathrow Airport's Terminal 5 are starving the region of tradespeople.

The North-East is enjoying a boom in construction work, particularly at Gateshead Quays, but finding skilled workers has become increasingly difficult.

Construction has fallen victim to underfunding in training and apprenticeships, threatening to further undermine efforts to transform the region, an industry expert has said.

Michael O'Connell, chairman of Rethinking Construction, told Business Echo: "The industry has been quite buoyant across the region for the past two or three years.

"The pitfalls are a lack of quality labour in the market place, due to a lack of training over the last 15 years."

He blamed national and larger regional companies for turning their backs on in-house training and for pressing sub-contractors on prices.

"They have screwed the contractors for price," he said.

"The industry is relying on sub-contractors to train and bring on craftsmen.

"It has been a victim of its own competitiveness.

"The whole country has experienced a major boom in construction and a lot of companies have been caught with their trousers down.

"There has not been the amount of training there to compensate the amount of building across the country at the moment."

Mace, the company responsible for Heathrow Terminal 5, recognised the chronic shortages in the industry and offered contracts of £50,000 to £60,000 a year to attract workers.

"Mace identified that if they want a quality product, delivered on time, you have to have the labour to do it. They are paying to have the best," said Mr O'Connell.

"The North-South divide is getting worse in construction.

"We in the North are the poor relation to what they can afford to pay in the South of England.

"In a lot of cases, tradesmen are getting a substantial amount more than they are getting in the North-East. The problem is, Mace is not bringing through apprentices."

Mr O'Connell's company, M&M Plasline, in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, employs 250 people and takes on up to a dozen apprentices each year.