NEW College Durham's training for young people is among the best in the country.

The Training Standards Council report published last week rated the college 23rd out of almost 500 training providers in the country.

The report covered training for modern apprenticeships in administration, construction, engineering, dental nursing, catering, retail, hairdressing, customer services and accountancy.

An initiative in conjunction with Tesco and the Employment Service to train 150 employees at the supermarket company's new Dragonville store was praised in a separate inspection by the Government's newly-formed Adult Learning Inspectorate.