The first candidates have sat the National Council for the Training of Journalists' new preliminary subbing exam - with three out of four passing.

The exam was introduced in response to what the NCTJ says is a growing problem of a lack of qualified subs in newsrooms.

It is being offered to trainees alongside their other preliminary exams, reporters who have passed their NCTJ preliminary exams but want to move to the subs desk and to subs who were taken on without any relevant qualification.

Candidates sat the first exam at De Montfort University in Leicester on December 1.

Among those to pass was Neil Wilcock from the Halifax Courier.

He said: "As technology progresses, computer-aided design has become such a part of a sub's job that the job is increasingly appealing to people with a design background but the job only equates to about 30 per cent of a sub's responsibilities.

"Now, a wannabe sub can learn the other 70 per cent - the journalistic skills and know-how needed to do the job well without working as a reporter for at least two years.

"Not everyone is cut out for hard-nosed reporting, hitting the streets and working contacts, but I don't think that means they won't make a good sub editor."

The new qualification can lead to trainees sitting an NCE for sub-editors which is due to be offered for the first time this summer.