IN A week where the powerhouses of British industry have placed employment outsourcing high on the agenda for business survival and growth it is great to see PlaneStation, the owner of EUJet and KIA, has decided to outsource its operations to Kent, moving the company's London base to Ramsgate.

Not only is this important recognition of the company's commitment to Manston and its operations, but also an important recognition that Kent can provide a business base of equal prowess to the headier heights of London.

But while this move is excellent news for the county we cannot rest easy.

For once I nodded in agreement with chancellor Gordon Brown when he told delegates at the CBI conference that the nation's workforce must keep up with the skills base of developing economic forces India and China.

It is a great worry that India and China are producing 125,000 computer science graduates a year to the meagre 5,000 graduating in Britain.

It is already acknowledged areas in Kent are suffering from skills shortages and bosses complain of a lack of suitable qualified candidates.

As Mr Brown also pointed out, within a decade five million US and European jobs could be outsourced. This is a reality of the global economy we now live in and no country's business community can afford to ignore.

Therefore, while UK jobs may be moved abroad we must also realise that better skilled foreign workers will also enter the workplace here.

It is the challenge now of higher education and organisations such as The Learning Skills Council to address these shortfalls and re-educate both employers and employees.