HIGH-FLYERS in the North- East have the opportunity to fast-track their careers through a competition to win a scholarship at the region's leading business school.

Durham Business School (DBS) has launched a search to find three people working in business, public or voluntary sectors, to win one of three part-funded scholarships for the Executive Masters of Business Administration (MBA) programme. DBS said the competition would also make people working in the region aware of the value of an MBA.

Kathy Betteridge, a manager who has worked in the public sector for almost 21 years providing support to teenage parents, has used her qualification to take her career to a new level. She now works as a strategic facilitator for learner support within Liberata, a company that provides services to public sector organisations.

Anne Woodhead, director of Executive MBA programmes, said: "Time and time again, we've seen the huge boost an MBA has given our graduates, personally and professionally.

"The Durham Executive MBA is 100 per cent relevant to business people across all sectors - public, private and voluntary - and we're keen to make it as accessible as possible to people across the region, where we have so much talent and potential."

For information, phone 0191- 334-5533.