MANY people living in the Swale area find it hard to obtain jobs because they lack basic skills needed by employers. They lose out because they have no formal qualifications and are bad at reading, writing and arithmetic.

This is just one of the startling conclusions of a no-punches-pulled report on learning and workforce skills being considered by Swale Borough Council's executive.

It was being asked to endorse a new draft strategy drawn up by a research company aimed at tackling head-on what the report calls "this culture of low aspirations - both by individuals and businesses - and poor self-image, which can start at a very early age".

Across Swale gmore than a third (34 per cent) of all adults aged 16 to 74 have no qualifications - much higher than Kent overall (29 per cent) and more than twice as high as the South East average (24 per cent).

Job prospects are also hit by worrying literacy and numeracy levels.

Exactly a quarter of all adults - about 17,700 - cannot cope well with numbers while 24 per cent, or 17,000, have difficulty with reading and writing.

One target of the draft strategy - which if endorsed will go out to community consultation - is to drive down these levels to at least the Kent average of 22.6 per cent, still leaving about 16,000 adults in Swale facing "three-R" problems.

The document urges schools, training providers and firms to play much stronger roles in developing skills better matched to employers' needs.

It stresses this will make it easier for people to make the most of job opportunities due to arise from the Thames Gateway regeneration initiative.

This is pumping £23 million into the borough over the next three years at the same time as the Government is investing £90 million in the new Sheppey bridge and improved road access.