Unemployed people are to be offered apprenticeships acting as health advisors with community groups.

The Hale Community Health Action Project has secured £70,547 in European funding to run the 12 apprenticeships at community centres in the Shipley area.

Those taking part will work for a year at the centres, gaining useful skills and experience of community health work. It is hoped what they learn could lead some to choose careers in the health service.

The workers, who must live in the Shipley East area will receive training and work with mentors. They will help to promote a "healthy living agenda" among centre users and work in ventures such as community cafes.

Today Sabiya Khan, of North Bradford Primary Care Trust, welcomed the backing from the European Commission's Objective Two programme.

"The funding is obviously very good news for the project and for the wider local community," she said. "The money is very important because it will help us to offer opportunities to local people who have been unemployed for a number of years.

"It will offer the opportunity to actually do work rather than just training and we hope that for some it will be a step towards permanent employment."

The apprenticeships will be part of the work being done by the Shipley Healthy Living Project. It has secured other funding from the New Opportunities Fund for projects over the next five years.

Bob Lee, manager of the Wrose Community Centre which is taking a lead role in the project, said the new health apprentices could take on a variety of roles in providing support and health advice to local people.

"It is a brand new concept to have someone dedicated to health working in a community centre," he said. "I think there is a real need for these staff.

"A lot of the people that come here are quite frail and they do need extra support. For people who have just undergone operations there is very little support available to them at the moment, so this could help towards that."

Alison Swiszczowski, a community development worker at the Windhill Community Centre, said one of the workers was set to provide support to the centre's community cafe and food co-op.

"I think they will be an invaluable help in the work that we do," she said. "I am unaware of anything like this being tried before."

The apprenticeships will be advertised through Job Centres shortly and are expected to start in the spring.