BURY is famous around the world for black puddings and its market.

But is has also been a big hitter as being home to some global brands such as Sambro, Tetrosyl, Birthdays and JD Sports Fashion.

Now a project is under way to bring back the productivity heyday to towns such as Bury.

It has been chosen as one of four across the country for a pilot scheme to help create a thriving local economy.

The pilot is a collaboration between Barclays, Bury Council, and schools and businesses in the area.

It is also part of the Bury LifeSkills programme which looked at reasons why people feel the options open to them are limited and aims to remove barriers so they can achieve their full potential.

Barclays has identified Bury as having an “average” economy that is doing well and, if successful, the project can be repeated across the country.

In collaboration with the council, businesses and schools, the banking giant will be sharing its expertise to benefit everyone.

It is also vital in establishing links between schools and businesses to ensure students are receiving training that will help them fit into the workplace, as well as identifying opportunities for young people to progress.

Having a global brand like Barclays involved will also give businesses in the town the opportunity to expand and even broaden their horizons, hopefully creating the household brands of the future.

The LifeSkills project identified pockets of opportunity for people and especially pupils, but there was often only a small window available and several factors could conspire to stop people achieving their goals.

In some cases, they didn’t even have any aspirations.

Collaborations such as this will hopefully raise the bar across the borough in terms of education, training and opportunities, and making the town a vibrant place to live and work, with a thriving economy.