A TRAINING company which has doubled in size six months after expanding to new premises has ambitious growth plans to create more jobs in Selby.

The Skills Network moved to Abbey Court in November last year, and in January expanded into the upper floor of its building to accommodate its growth.

The business, which now employs 80 people at the office, and has a network of 180 self-employed trainers working for it nationwide, intends to continue to grow every six months, chief executive Mick Cox said.

The Skills Network was set up by Mick and managing director Eliot Grant in 2009, after the pair worked together at another training company.

Mick trained as an actor and had a stage career in London, before becoming a drama teacher and getting involved with the management of education.

Eliot, who worked in sports merchandising in Hong Kong, and then in the UK for the likes of Leeds United and SkySports.com, went into the training industry to bring a new educational product to market.

Working together in a private training company, the pair decided to launch on their own.

The business carries out training, from professional qualifications to work-ready training for the long-term unemployed for college and directly for employers, using its private sector agility to provide solutions for colleges facing constant changes in requirements and funding.

The company’s recruitment process included adding new senior members to the team so Mick and Eliot can take a strategic view of the business’s future growth, allowing them to concentrate on developing other areas of the business.

The business also provides interim management and consultancy to colleges and publishes its own learning resources, where it sees opportunities to expand further.

Mick said: “We have got some very ambitious growth plans for the next couple of years. We’re already working on projects which are taking a lot of our time now but won’t come out for 12 months.

We intend to keep growing and keep recruiting locally.

“We’re a young company, but we’re committed and have invested heavily in the region. We’re here for the long term and we believe we have got potential to keep on growing.”