A WAVE of new industrial centres of excellence in the district are helping young people become more employable, according to a new report.

The centres have been set up to bring together 14 to 19-year-olds, businesses and higher education to give young people the skills they need for certain industries.

Despite only being in the early stages, there are already more than 100 pupils accessing the centres, with the hopes that this could reach 300 for each centre.

The £1.5 million project is part of the Get Bradford Working programme to provide young people with training in "priority economic sectors".

Each centre is teamed with businesses to offer students work experience and practical experience.

Next week, Bradford Council's children's services scrutiny committee will be given an update on the project, which was recently used as a national case study for how employers and colleges could work together.

However, councillors will hear that more needs to be done to attract more diverse students - at some of the centres only 15 per cent of the students recruited are female.

The Centre of Excellence for Business first welcomed students in September 2013. The centre, based at Shipley College, is a partnership between the college, numerous schools and businesses, including Yorkshire Water, social housing group Incommunities and Beaumont Robinson.

Since it opened, 15 companies have been involved in assignments, and there has been 157 visits by businesses to classes to work with students. By the end of the last academic year, 76 pupils had completed the course. Of those, ten per cent more were finding work on leaving that before the ICE was set up.

Philip Hunter, head of the Council's education, employment and enterprise team, said: "Retention and predicted grades indicate the approach is having a positive impact on young people's opportunities."

The Centre of Excellence for Environmental Technologies, based in Bradford University, has 80 students in years nine to 12 at Buttershaw Business & Enterprise College accessing provision there, and the centre's partners include AWM, NG Bailey and British Gas.

A pilot curriculum for a Centre of Excellence for the Built Environment is progressing, and an open day was held yesterday. The partnership involves Bradford College, local schools and construction and housing companies. It will help young people train for careers in bricklaying, carpentry and electrics. The chairman of the centre's board is Andrew Laver, of timber company Arnold Laver.

The Centre of Excellence for Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering is based at the Leeds City College Keighley campus, and officially started late last month. So far, it is being used by 37 students at Oakbank School, with more students to start training this month.

In his report, Mr Hunter says: "The ambition is that young people from any Bradford school would ultimately be able to access provision at an ICE.

"All young people on the programme have a much greater understanding of what employers in Bradford expect of them."

He adds getting more diverse student groups was "high on the agenda" of the ICE boards.

The committee meets at Bradford City Hall next Tuesday.