A state-of-the-art management training centre will be created at the University of Lincoln to bolster the skills of the region's business leaders.

The University has secured a grant of £900,000 from East Midlands Development Agency (emda) through Lincolnshire County Council to develop the new Lincolnshire Leadership and Management Centre (LLMC).

The LLMC will be based on the ground floor of the Faculty of Business and Law's new faculty building, currently under construction on the edge of the University's main Brayford Pool campus and due to open later this year.

The centre is intended to provide the facilities needed to develop higher level management and leadership skills in companies within the East Midlands, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Lincolnshire and Rutland area.

Professor Scott Davidson, Pro Vice-Chancellor (External Affairs) at the University of Lincoln, said: "We are delighted to be announcing the development of the purpose-built Lincolnshire Leadership and Management Centre and would like to thank emda and Lincolnshire County Council for their support of this project. While the centre will be a most attractive addition to the new faculty building, its ultimate importance lies in the service that will be provided by my colleagues to the county's SMEs, particularly as they contribute to the region's emergence from recession."

The LLMC will feature a 60-seat Harvard style lecture theatre, seminar rooms, meeting room, break-out space for clients and office space for the core academic team from the University's Lincoln Business School.

A multi-media facility will enable it to reach out to companies when they are unable to come to Lincoln and all rooms will be equipped with wireless internet and state-of-the-art audio visual equipment.

Economic indicators for Lincolnshire lend support to the rationale for the centre: to increase higher level skills, qualifications and productivity in the county. Lincolnshire has a low Gross Domestic Product (GDP - the measure of economic growth) compared to the UK average and almost a third of adults in the county have no qualification at Level 3 (NVQ Level 3, AS and A Level).

Professor David Head, Dean of the University of Lincoln's Faculty of Business and Law, said: "Research has shown that more than 60 per cent of businesses in the region are either undertaking or are likely to undertake higher level skills training. The shortage of higher level skills within the Lincolnshire and sub-regional workforce, combined with the palpable demand for training provision, indicate a strong market for leadership and management development that is tailored to SMEs and larger companies."

Andrew Morgan, emda's Skills and Communities Director, added: "The University of Lincoln is already working closely with small businesses across the region on management and leadership via the School of Engineering and the soon to be developed Engineering Hub. Our latest investment will build on this activity, and help to address the skills deficit in Lincolnshire by boosting leadership and management capability and therefore business performance."