ONE thousand new jobs will be created on the south coast if Southampton shipbuilder Vosper Thornycroft (VT) wins a major slice of a multi-billion pound aircraft carrier contract.

There could also be a big extra bonus for Southampton, despite VT moving production to Portsmouth, as once a contract to help build the UK's warships of the future is signed some of the construction work is set to be carried out at the city's King George V dry dock.

Today a major campaign was launched by the company in a bid to clinch the work that would bring the huge employment boost to the region.

At the same time VT unveiled a ground-breaking initiative that will boost long-term skills of its shipbuilding personnel and could eliminate the ups and downs of employment for the new recruits and its existing workforce.

The jobs windfall for the south all depends on the company's shipbuilding division securing a significant involvement in the design, construction and support of the Royal Navy's next generation of aircraft carrier.

VT is part of two consortia, headed respectively by BAe Systems and Thales, which are bidding to be named as prime contractors for the £2.7 billion project.

Together with the successful Campaign for South Coast Shipbuilding, VT is aiming for at least 20 per cent of the work from the project which will be the biggest defence capital programme of recent times.

VT's chief executive Paul Lester said: "The future aircraft carrier programme is the UK's biggest post-war naval shipbuilding project and no single yard is capable of carrying out the work.

"Like the Type 45 destroyer, the ship will be built in modules and we want to ensure that a significant amount of the work comes to the south coast.

"Our lifelong multi-skilling programme will also ensure that we do not recruit and then release the labour once the programme is complete.

"By equipping our people with skills beyond shipbuilding, they can take advantage of the opportunities within our increasingly diverse VT Group or benefit the region by applying their skills elsewhere.''

The new jobs would be created from 2004 onwards, with the first aircraft carrier due in service in 2012.

VT would expand its Portsmouth Shipbuilding Facility, which is currently under construction, to build ship modules.