PEOPLE in Yorkshire are benefiting from £23m in Government spending on skills training to help them get and keep jobs during the recession.

The investment includes £13m to make provide training to people who have lost or fear they may lose their jobs.

It also includes £10m to help people who have been unemployed for six months or more to get access to training to help them back into work.

The funding is part of the £4.5bn that the Government is spending nationally on adult skills.

John Denham, Skills Secretary, said: “We have acted to make sure that people have access to the skills and training they need to keep their jobs or get back into work.

“We know that people whose skills are up to date are more likely to find a good job and that employers with well-trained staff do better than those that don’t invest in the skills of their workforce.”

In Yorkshire, the number of people gaining work-related training rose to 20,100 last year from 8,800 the previous year.

Nationally, adults achieved 187,300 qualifications through Train to Gain during 2008 – over double the number for 2007.

Mr Denham said small and medium-sized firms were now top priority for Train to Gain funding.