Sunderland training firm set to reach £1million turnover mark

JB Skills Training Ltd was incorporated in March 2014 and started trading in the North East in July 2014.

From its base in Hendon, it now trades across the region and beyond to Europe.

It’s grown from two team members to 15 full-time staff, seven part-time staff and has an associate base of more than 30 tutors, and will have quadrupled its turnover at the end of the current financial year.

Dave Macmillan, operations director, said: “Over the last year we have performed well enough to secure six European Social Fund regional contracts across the country, to help people find employment.

“In April 2015 we also gained an award for the Matrix Standard.

“We also received an award in the East Midlands for having the highest percentage of qualifications gained by unemployed people.

“This enabled us to be better recognised, which meant we could command a significant growth in contracts.

“This in turn allowed the employment of further staff.

“In the last academic year we trained more than 500 learners and helped more than 250 of these into sustainable employment. In total, we have delivered more than 1,000 qualifications now in English and maths and have a success pass rate of more than 97%. This has all been achieved thanks to the quality of our service and dedication of our team.”

Recently, it secured a £300k apprenticeship contract with local company Learning Curve that will see more than 220 new apprenticeships delivered.

JB Skills Training has also won a £898k contract with national provider Hit training to support a large number of people with low levels of literacy and numeracy

Dave added: “In the next eight weeks we will be looking to create up to another seven jobs, and we are just launching a new training arm for the care industry.

“Skills 2 Care is a dedicated training academy we have set up to focus on working with anyone in health and social care, from private and public sectors. It is an exciting time for the company all round.”