NORTH Yorkshire farmers are being urged to take advantage of the £22m of Government money available to pay for training so they can expand their businesses.

Ryedale farmer's wife Ena Dent is one of the first people in Yorkshire to benefit from fast track Vocation Training Scheme (VTS) funding, which has allowed her to start a new business venture from her home at Craven Garth Farm in Rosedale, near Pickering.

The scheme is helping to finance a City and Guilds course in beauty therapy so she can offer guests staying at her seven holiday cottages a range of pampering treatments using natural, locally-produced products, including aromatherapy, facials, manicures and massage.

"I was delighted when the funding for my course was approved by the department for rural affairs (DEFRA)," said Mrs Dent, who has run the family-owned beef and sheep farm with her husband Trevor for 14 years.

"I had always dreamt of branching out into other areas and the VTS scheme allows people like me to take positive action to make that happen.

"I wanted to use natural, locally-made products for my treatments, as I feel that there's so much good quality produce right on our doorstep and, by buying local, I can also help strengthen the rural economy."

The scheme has been running for three years and provides up to 75pc of the cost towards training for people involved in farming or forestry who want to broaden their skills.

Lee McQue, DEFRA's rural development service advisor for Yorkshire and Humber, said: "The VTS fast track has been introduced for people like Mrs Dent. It allows people in the farming and forestry industry to gain the skills necessary to broaden their horizons while generating more money in rural areas."

VTS is one of the schemes that operates under the England Rural Development Programme (ERDP). A total of £22m has been allocated to VTS across the seven years of the ERDP until 2006. For more information on ERDP, visit the DEFRA website at www.defra.gov.uk.

Updated: 12:21 Wednesday, December 10, 2003