DORSET'S Workforce Development Programme has delivered a £3.5 million boost to 100 companies across the county.

The first 100 firms which have participated in the Workforce Development Programme report an average financial benefit of £35,000 each.

"Results have been extremely encouraging - if this trend continues we could be looking at a £15 million injection into the local economy over the coming year," said project co-ordinator Gwen Brennan.

The Workforce Development Programme (WDP) seeks to improve business competitiveness through assisted staff training. Businesses which have taken part in the scheme range from local food producers to high-tech engineering companies.

Training programmes have ranged from chainsaw operation through to computer-aided design. Blenkin Precision Engineering, on the Ferndown Industrial Estate, is one of the local businesses which have benefited.

Blenkin's new owner Adrian Guy said: "In this business you can easily fall behind if you don't keep up with new technology, and this goes for staff training as well as equipment.

"The programme has provided us with the ability to visualise where we want the company to go, and the means to achieve it."

The programme, which is based at East Dorset District Council, is available to key sectors within the Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole economy.

Eligible companies receive the free assistance of a sector specialist adviser to develop their own training plan and a grant of up to 70 per cent of training costs. The initiative also supports the Graduates into Business programme - managed by the S2B team at Bournemouth University - which helps firms to recruit graduates.

The programme is also supported by the South West RDA, European Social Fund, the local Learning & Skills Council, and the Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole Economic Partnership and includes all local authorities in the area.

* For further information about WDP, contact Gwen Brennan on 01202 639026.