A UNIQUE on-line business information and distance learning system, developed by Winsford-based Business Link Vale Royal, is being launched next month.

The system will take the virtual classroom into every office and factory in the county and is set to put Cheshire at the centre of the world learning map.

Flexi Web, developed in partnership with Cheshire College and Lynx Technology, makes it possible for workers to study for a range of qualifications without leaving their desks.

Two hundred small and medium-sized businesses, including many from Winsford and Middlewich, will be involved in a pilot scheme which could be expanded to 4,000 firms if successful.

David Cotgreave, BLVR research and development manager, who devised Flexi Web, won funding from the ADAPT strand of the European Social Fund which grants money for projects which protect the workforce from new technology.

"I wanted to put a system into place that would allow small and medium-sized enterprises to dial-in and get access to information and learning facilities but without putting the onus on them to go out and spend £2,500 on hardware," he said.

"It seemed obvious that vocational training for employees would also be easier if they could sit down at their office PC screens to their courses, especially in Vale Royal where some businesses can be off the beaten track."

The new service will be launched on Friday, October 16, when GEM, a sophisticated automation from Advanced Robot Promotions will electronically flash the Flexi Web logo onto the information superhighway.

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