A £68 MILLION boost for Lancashire's manufacturing's industry has been unveiled.

The money will fund the Lancashire Manufacturing Partnership which is aimed at improving the competitiveness of the county's manufacturing base.

At a high profile public launch of the project in Blackburn, county council leader Louise Ellman described it as an "important breakthrough" for manufacturing companies.

"Manufacturing is at the heart of the Lancashire economy. WIth 150,000 employed in the sector it has the largest manufacturing workforce of any shire county in the UK," Mrs Ellman told the audience at the launch at Blackburn Moat House.

The Partnership, made up of Lancashire Enterprises, ELTEC, LAWTEC and senior business leaders, is a five-year programme of investment backed by the Government's Single Regeneration Budget It is targeting six key areas:

Creating a dynamic small firm sector by promoting innovation

Developing manufacturing workspace to meet industry's requirements

Improving the availability of investment finance for manufacturing

Building a workforce educated and trained to world class standards

The development of the Lancashire Enterprises Business Park at Leyland

The promotion of world class manufacturing systems

A series of initiatives is already under way throughout the county including a £900,000 redevelopment of redundant buildings at the business park, which has led to the creation of 65 jobs.

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