The jobs could be lost at the New Deal Training Consortium in Derry which involves Rutledge Joblink, Acorn Projects, Austins Quality Training Services, the Churches Training Company, Conservation Volunteers NI, Customized Training Services, Derry Youth and Community Workshop, Faughanvale Community Project, the North West Centre for Learning & Development, the North West Regional College. and the Resource Centre Derry.

The decision to award the training contract to English based A4E instead of the local groups has been criticised by local politicians and trade unionists.

Colm McCaughan, Manager of Rutledge Joblink, the lead organisation of the local consortium, said he was shocked by the decision.

"We are deeply disappointed by DEL's decision and cannot understand how an English-based company with apparently no track record or established partnership arrangements in Northern Ireland can be selected to deliver this programme.

"This decision by DEL threatens numerous local jobs and community services in the city including many in areas of greatest disadvantage."

Declan Doherty, Chief Executive of Derry Youth and Community Workshop, added: "As many as 100 jobs could be affected by this decision and the story is repeated across Northern Ireland as DEL has awarded four of the ten contract areas to two English-based companies," he said.

The secretary of Derry Trades Council Liam Gallagher warned that awarding the contract to an English-based firm could lead to a repeat of a previous tendering process where a government training contract had to be removed from a company.

"We fell this is a scandalous situation and there is no justification other than satisfying the political dream for privatising training services in Northern Ireland," he said.