THE region's army of call centre workers will today be warned to improve - or lose their jobs to India and the Philippines.

Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt will warn British staff they lack vital "soft skills" such as communication and customer service.

Ms Hewitt will raise the alarm in a long-awaited report on the "off-shoring" of jobs.

However, a Merseyside MP last night claimed the issue was not a question of ability, adding that it had more to do with the lower pay foreign workers would get.

The Department of Trade and Industry report will highlight "the frustration of being put on hold for ages" and claim the call centre industry suffers from a poor image.

However, Ms Hewitt will insist call centres have a bright future in this country and will employ a million people in just three years.

The North West is the call centre capital of Britain, with 129,524 people - one in every 23 workers - employed answering phones, in management or support jobs.

Merseyside itself has 100 call centres, employing 27,500 workers, while there are 81 call centres in Cheshire employing 15,500 staff. Louise Ellman MP, whose Liverpool Riverside constituency contains a large number of call centre jobs, said: "Very often moving call centres abroad is cheaper for the company, but does not necessarily provide a better service to the public.

"The way to combat that is to make sure we continually upgrade our skills."

A spokesman for Vertex, which runs a United Utilities call centre in Warrington and a Marks & Spencer call centre in Knowsley, leapt to the defence of the region's call handlers. He said: "We are very positive at the moment and believe we have a very well trained and well motivated workforce.

"Workers go through a very rigorous training.

"Our clients are delighted with the quality of the staff."

Bob Cook, director of the Merseyside Contact Centre Forum, added: "There are other areas in the country that are not as advanced as Merseyside. We are offering higher level and more complicated work."

But, just three months ago, a call centre business in Birkenhead, which employed 700 people at its peak, announced that it was to close.

Consus Contact Management, based in Canning Street, blamed the failure to win new contracts on the growing trend to shift work to low-cost India.

The average starting salary in a North West call centre is £12,300 compared to just £1,500 in India, where skills are often higher.

Ms Hewitt will demand call centre firms increase training at every level, from the most junior staff to management.