Unit leads way in call-centre training

Bradford Council's Call Centre Training Unit in Neal Street has had a good start to the year with half its latest intake of trainees finding jobs.

Twelve successful trainees are joining a string of expanding call centre operators around Bradford including BT, Halifax Plc, Grattan and Northern Vending. Five of the trainees are women returners who signed up for training at the centre as a route back into work.

And the training unit recently welcomed 35 new trainees onto its latest five-week long training course - its biggest intake for 12 months.

In the last three years, more than 420 trainees have successfully moved into telemarketing jobs after completing training. The unit's training package includes telephone skills, customer care and e-commerce developments.

Now about three per cent of the district's workforce are employed in call centre operations and nationally the annual growth in jobs is running at between 30 and 40 per cent.

The district is said to have nearly 4,000 people working in call centres and it is estimated that in the next few years this figure will rise to 6,000.

Councillor Flo Collard, the Council's lead member responsible for training, said: "Bradford Call Centre Training Unit is leading the way as a training and recruitment base for local employers and recent investment in new training facilities is designed to meet a growing demand for places.

"The call for trained staff is coming from both major employers and emerging local businesses and the upward trend in job successes for women returners is another positive feature."

The Call Centre Training Unit was set up in 1996 in a partnership between Bradford Council and Bradford and District Training & Enterprise Council.

It is widely seen as a role model for similar training ventures in other parts of the country.

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