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Lancashire’s famous textile sector has a skills gap - and now a social enterprise and a local council have teamed up on a new scheme to support manufacturers and help people into work.

West Lancashire council and The Sewing Rooms, Skelmersdale, have launched the Licence to Sew programme for people to train to become skilled textile machinists.

The ten-week programme is open to people over 17 and has been designed to meet the needs of local manufacturing firms, with training including practice sessions focused on industry quality standards.

The council said: “Lancashire can boast a long and illustrious history of innovative textile production and manufacture that played an essential part in the Industrial Revolution; the Licence to Sew programme is the next step in this heritage, enabling new employment opportunities to the West Lancashire communities.

Councillor Rob Molloy, portfolio holder for economic development and regeneration, said: "The council's º£½ÇÊÓƵ Shared Prosperity Funding aims to support local businesses, communities, place and people. This unique programme has helped to identify a skills gap across a critical sector where filling vacant roles can be challenging.

"The mission is to upskill local people into local jobs and build a cultivated workforce that propels and retains high productivity manufacturing businesses in West Lancashire, whilst increasing and sustaining economic growth within the borough.

"We're really pleased to be working collaboratively with local partners to deliver this unique programme, to support businesses and help to create skilled employment opportunities for our residents.”

Paula Gamester MBE, chief executive of The Sewing Rooms, said she and her team had identified a “pressing need” for skilled sewing machinists in the borough.