Upskill in international expansion
Ilkeston-based training company Upskill is expanding overseas after winning contacts in Malaysia and Dubai.
Upskill has signed a formal agreement with the Open University of Malaysia, based in the capital Kuala Lumpur and with 60 educational centres nationwide that will use its management development programmes. The initial contract is worth £60,000, but Upskill, which is ran by brothers Frank and Mick Dunne, said there is significant potential for growth.
The company has also won a second international contract with Al Futtaim Carillion – an organisation based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and jointly owned with major British support services and construction company Carillion – to train senior managers on high-profile projects.
Frank said: "We are delighted to have won these contracts because they give us a foothold in these countries on which to build and grow.
"We may be small, but we are competing on the world stage and would encourage other local companies to look abroad. We have had to make sacrifices with our home life but it’s an experience and, hopefully, will be worth it."
