Leading Training Provider Prevails as Top North Yorkshire SME

The Skills Network, a leading training provider specialising in online distance learning, prevails as one of the highest performing SMEs in North Yorkshire.

Headquartered in Selby, The Skills Network has taken the fourth spot in this year’s BHP Top 50 SME List, having turned over £14.5 million in 2018.

As a rapidly expanding SME, the organisation celebrates its tenth year in operations this year, now directly employing a team of 210 staff and operating with a larger workforce of over 700 staff across both its Selby HQ and London office. The organisation has a vision to become the number one provider of technology-based learning, both in the UK and worldwide.

Alongside delivering funded distance learning courses to over 30,000 learners nationwide via its sub-contracting partnerships with over 40 Further Education (FE) Colleges, The Skills Network utilises its own Learner Management System (LMS) ‘EQUAL’ to support over 6,000 employers to upskill their staff every year. Their clientele includes global businesses such as G4S and Sodexo.

The organisation aims to accelerate its expansion into overseas markets, now operating in over 10 countries and soon to support 5,000 people to access further education opportunities in Botswana, Africa, and its surrounding countries.

Last year was the business’s most successful to date. Having been celebrated by Ofsted as a Grade 2 ‘Good’ education provider, TSN made a series of key appointments from the FE sector to bolster its strategic vision, namely appointing Peter McCann, a former Deputy Principal at Leeds City College, as its first Chairman.

Claire Conlaund, Managing Director at The Skills Network, said:

“As one of the most successful providers of online learning solutions, The Skills Network continues to go from strength to strength. Now in our 10th year of operation, we are focused on our vision to become the number one provider of technology-based learning, not only in the UK, but worldwide.

We have established ourselves as a leading provider in health and social care, childcare, and business and financial training. Working with over 6,000 employers every year as their chosen provider, from fully government funded training, through to Apprenticeships and online short courses, our dedication to quality and customer service is at the heart of everything we do, and our reputation for success continues to drive us forward.

Our headquarters in North Yorkshire have enabled us to attract a 200-strong dedicated staff base, from education experts and teachers to some truly remarkable emerging talent in technology and design, and we only see this growing as the company continues to be a market leader in online learning.”

About The Skills Network

The Skills Network (TSN) is a private training provider based in Selby, North Yorkshire, specialising in delivering online training to employers, educators and individuals. With over 100 distance learning courses, TSN provide training across subjects such as accounting and finance, leadership and management, childcare and education, health and well-being, retail and hospitality, and health and social care.

TSN is partnered with several national awarding organisations and over 40 Further Education Colleges, supporting over 30,000 learners and 6,000 employers to access nationally recognised qualifications every year.