Thousands of unemployed people will be armed with the skills to get jobs thanks to a £10 million European grant.

A new project named Equal Brighton and Hove will invest the cash in training courses for 4,000 people who may find it difficult to get a foothold in the world of work.

The programme, which is funded by the European Union, will target people who are disabled, homeless, young or old, ex-offenders and people from ethnic minorities.

Programme Manager Terry Roy said: "Businesses need a large skilled labour pool to draw from but there are currently not enough skilled workers.

"We have looked at areas where people have been disadvantaged in the past. There are a number of socially excluded groups that could become part of the labour pool. We want to get them skills so they can get the jobs."

Ms Roy said there were shortages of skilled workers in construction, retail, catering and other trades.

22 per cent of adult residents in Brighton and Hove have no qualifications. Unemployment is 3.4 per cent - more than double the South- East's jobless rate of 1.4 per cent.

One of Equal's 25 beneficiaries, City College Brighton and Hove, has been awarded £560,000 to help set up a construction skills centre on the former Comart site in Wilson Avenue, East Brighton.

Andrew Garrett, project director of the college's Constructing Futures scheme, said Sussex was short of 8,000 skilled workers and Brighton and Hove was expected to build £2 billion worth of developments in the next decade.

He said: "If we don't have a workforce, we will have to import labour from outside the city."

The centre will offer basic training for those who lack the qualifications to join an apprenticeship scheme. Its general maintenance BTEC will give people experience in a variety of trades including carpentry, bricklaying and decorating.

The official launch of Equal Brighton and Hove will take place on Tuesday at the Brighton Hilton Metropole hotel.