One North East is investing £9.4m into the North East Productivity Alliance (NEPA) to ensure its acclaimed work with regional companies continues until at least 2009.

The cash will allow 14 new engineers, handpicked from regional firms, to be trained under the NEPA programme, to work with management and shopfloor staff to engrain best practice ‘lean manufacturing’ into companies and raise their productivity.

The funding will also ensure the future of NEPA’s Digital Factory project – which helps firms adopt new technologies to boost productivity.

David Allison, One North East Director of Business and Industry, said: “This further investment by One NorthEast in the NEPA programme is proof positive of the importance the regional development agency attaches to manufacturing.

”The NEPA programme is held up as a shining example nationally of how the public sector can work with private manufacturers to raise productivity and help them compete in a fierce global marketplace.

“Manufacturing continues to be a cornerstone of the North East economy, employing 169,000 people, contributing 25% of its GDP and generating £2.6bn in wages every year.”

The NEPA team is keen to work with regional companies to identify new engineers to work in the project. Employees will gain valuable new qualifications, boosting their worth to their parent companies by bringing best practice technique into the workplace.