MORE than £500,000 is being made available to small and medium sized business in the Tees Valley to encourage lifelong learning among the workforce.

City Centre Training Northern Limited has launched its Advantage - Bridging the Skills Gap initiative to encourage workers over 25 to take work-based qualifications such as NVQs.

The initiative, funded by the European Social Fund, is launched on Friday, at the David Lloyd Fitness Centre in Stockton.

Christine Murray, business development manager for City Centre Training Northern, said: "We are traditionally known as a company for providing learning and retraining to 16 to 24-year-olds.

"However, we are often asked by the business community if there is funding available for older employees.

"We feel through this initiative we can address the balance to offer lifelong learning to everyone."

City Centre Training is part of The Bethany Group, one of the UK's largest providers of training and enterprise development activities.

Anyone wanting more information on the initiative should contact 0800 0852 085.