THE jobs boom expected in Kent and Medway from a shift from west to east may be slower than local planners hoped, according to a regional report from Skills Insight.

It predicts continued strong growth in western parts of the south east, and "relatively slow employment growth" in the east. It says: "Whilst Surrey has a projected increase in employment of 13.1 per centbetween 2001 and 2011, the comparable figure for Kent and Medway is only 2.5 per cent."

The report suggests that jobs growth in the region will be slower in the next decade, 0.8 per cent a year and around one third of the rate between 1995 and 2001.

But it still means that hundreds of thousands of jobs will be created. The business services sector alone is projected to generate more than

135,000 extra jobs between 2001 and 2011 - more than twice as much as any other sector.

Some of the greatest growth - 95,000 jobs - is expected to be in relatively low-skilled occupations. However, the report says that skill shortages will be a major concern, especially in information technology.

But basic skills such as reading, oral and written communications will also be scarce among more than 350,000 people by 2006.

The report concludes: "Simply increasing the proportion of young people attending higher education will neither provide the skills which businesses are seeking nor increase labour productivity. There is a need for greater emphasis on vocational training."

The report also says that immigrants had the potential to meet the skills and labour shortages, but that would require the UK and European Union to "free-up labour migration regulations".

It added that the region also faced a significant "brain drain" risk with "highest rates of outmigration found amongst professionals."

The report is based on a new forecasting model developed by Skills Insight, the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) and Experian Business Strategies.