Member Article

Six-figure rescue deal saves company

A six-figure contract has been signed which has secured the future of a training company, saved 14 jobs and ensured hundreds of learners can continue their apprenticeships.

200 apprentices and 14 full-time staff jobs at Harrogate training company FW Solutions were in jeopardy following the loss of a signficant contract.

Joint owner Sandra Hardy dug into reserves and personal finances to enable her to keep the company afloat and avoid making redundancies and disappointing hundreds of learners while she looked for a rescue deal.

Gateshead based Access Training has now stepped in as ?lead provider? to take over the £300,000 contract, enabling FW to continue trading and delivering the apprenticeships.

Access Training manages the contract and also provides the required quality management and auditing to support the provision.

FW Solutions owner Sandra Hardy said: ?We were devastated ? we thought we would lose our business. It was an incredibly difficult six months. We didn?t want our staff or the learners to be alarmed so we dug deep and fortunately found a solution in time.

?We are incredibly pleased with the support we have had from Access so far. They took us through a full due-diligence process and are always at the end of a phone to provide guidance.?

Access Training announced its plans to seek lead contractor opportunities such as these back in January when it won a £2m contract from SFA as a result of a partnership with Durham Training and MPH Customer Centred Training.

Access? Christine Barrass has taken on the role of partnerships director to drive forward this new area of the business.

Managing director Access Training, Malcolm Armstrong, said: ?FW Solutions has a good reputation as a quality training provider so we were more than happy to take on the contract. We have since taken on an additional 50 learners as part of the arrangement.?

Access Training is based on the Team Valley and is the only training provider in Tyne and Wear to achieve the prestigious Training Quality Standard (TQS).

FW Solutions was set-up in 2008 by Sandra and Rodney Hardy. It has a head office in Harrogate but operates all over the north of England and specialises in childcare and education training.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Jill Farmer (Dobson) .