A new £10 million project aims to get women into male-dominated industries.

Up to 10,000 school-leavers and women returning to work will be offered training, personal development programmes, mentoring schemes and special bursaries for technical qualifications.

The two-year initiative is being spearheaded by five sector skills councils and forms part of the government’s action plan to implement the Women and Work Commission recommendations.

The Commission estimates that increasing women’s participation in the labour market and in higher grade roles could be worth between £15 billion and £23 billion a year to the UK economy.

Announcing the scheme, Alan Johnson, Secretary of State for Education and Skills said: “It's about getting a better deal for women and for all of us, as this has the potential to bring a greater rate of return to our economy and society as a whole.”