A WHALLEY woman has taken up a major new role at a national body.

Anne Yarker, 47, has joined Skillfast UK, a UK-wide operation to aid the development of workers.

She will embark on the role alongside her job with Altham clothing manufacturers Simon Jersey, where she is human resources manager.

Anne, whose role at Simon Jersey includes overseeing training of the workforce, will take part in 12 remote internet and telephone consultations, and one face-to-face meeting each year.

With the textiles industry playing such an important part in East Lancashire's economy, Anne is in a good position to advise on these issues.

She will contribute to the design of training courses for the textiles industry and will also influence national policy and lobby the government about training-related issues.

She will also have input into qualification reforms where she will assist with assessing the current courses available and offer advice on how they can be changed.