People in Coventry who are unemployed or working in small and medium sized companies are being offered free training in skills essential to businesses.

Coventry City Council is offering the training in topics including first aid, risk assessment and health and safety as well as specialist subjects such as food hygiene.

The PATS project (Practical Additional Training Scheme) has been running in Coventry for a year and already 100 small and medium sized companies and more than 250 people have taken part.

The training is funded until December and is paid for by money won from the European Social Fund.

The courses have been selected to meet the rising demands for these skills. The aim is to help people make themselves more marketable and companies to raise the skill levels of their employees.

Cllr Dave Batten, cabinet member (Development and Renewal), said:

"These courses are available to both people in employment and those looking for work.

“They are also invaluable to some of the city smaller employers because they often find they have training needs but no money to fund them.

“Well-trained employees also give companies the extra edge that they need when they are competing for work.

“And the good news is we have won further funding to the tune of £33,000 from the European Social Fund to continue the courses."

The free training is available at a number of venues across the city.

Food hygiene awareness training is being run at Coventry Bangladesh Centre in Foleshill as there are a lot of food producing companies in that area.

CWT, in St Nicholas Street, Radford, provide training on risk assessment and health and safety, as well as courses on first aid and food hygiene.

Tile Hill College is holding first aid training and Coventry Technical College have also been heavily involved in the project and have piloted a computer based self-assessment package which Coventry Bangladesh Centre have been trying out with their trainees.

The package tests knowledge of food hygiene in a quiz format, and has proved to be so popular and user friendly that it is currently being produced into other languages.