COMPANIES in Darlington are to be given thousands of pounds to spend on staff training over the next three years.

Darlington Borough Council is launching a scheme, Skills for Success, in the New Year to help firms in the town to develop their workforces.

A total of £375,000 from the One NorthEast Single Programme will be given out in grants to local businesses.

Companies applying for help through the project will be visited by consultants who will carry out a training needs analysis.

Once the needs have been identified, a training plan will be developed by the consultant and sent to the business for approval.

Project staff will then discuss with the business where the training can be delivered and how much funding can be made available.

Grants of up to 50 cent of the total cost of training up to a maximum of £5,000 can be paid out to businesses.

Coun David Lyonette, the authority's cabinet member for economic regeneration, said: "Skills for Success offers an ideal opportunity for small to medium-sized businesses to assess their training needs for free.

"Companies can enlist specialist help to see how best to develop their workforce to help their businesses expand, become more competitive or productive, and to help their employees develop as individuals."

The project will run until September 2006. To qualify for grants, businesses must be based in Darlington and employ fewer than 250 employees.