EMPLOYERS and their staff in Ealing can can now get quality training as Train to Gain launches in the capital.

Businesses in now get free access to skills training with the launch of the Train to Gain service in the London area earlier in September.

Train to Gain is a service from the Learning and Skills Council that provides employers with a skills "broker" who will come into businesses and create a tailor-made training package.

The training available includes basic skills such as literacy, maths and computing or specialist vocational qualifications such as construction or hospitality and tourism.

Train to Gain West London covers the London boroughs of Brent, Ealing, Harrow, Hammersmith and Fulham, Hillingdon and Hounslow.

The service aims to plug west London's skills gap, where one in eight of the workforce have no qualifications. Train to Gain aims to reduce the number of people in the region with fewer than five GCSEs or equivalent by 40 per cent by 2010.

Skills gaps cost a typical 50-employee business an estimated £165,000 in lost revenue each year. Skills brokers will be targeting small and medium businesses in sectors including construction, hospitality and retail that currently do not train staff.

Norman Jennings, operations director at the London Brokerage Ltd, said: "Staff development should be at the heart of every business plan to ensure long-term success.

"The Train to Gain service is the easiest way for staff and employers to access the skills they need to succeed with tailor-made training packages and plenty of support and advice so the business can grow."

For further information about Train to Gain in London, call 0845 600 5025 or visit www.traintogain.gov.uk.