A Nuneaton business is on target to almost double its customer-list in a year, and add to its workforce, after benefiting from the “invaluable” support of the Skills Escalator Fund.

Attleborough Auto Centre, in Hammond Close, was created by Andrew Pethick in 2007. He started as a sole trader and operated on his own until 2023 when the business’ growth demanded another employee.

That growth continues. The business moved into larger premises in January this year, an expansion which Andrew can now fully exploit after he gained his MOT licence thanks in part to the Skills Escalator funding.

“The funding contributed to the training I needed to get my personal MOT licence,” he said. “I underwent the course at Profit from Training, just round the corner, and they were brilliant. I chose them because of their reputation and their location, as well as the small groups they train in. They have a great facility there - they’ve been going a long time and I hope they carry on a lot longer.

“The Escalator grant towards the training enabled me to make the move to this site and open an MOT bay here without needing to find someone to do the testing. The grant was invaluable - the budget for our move really spiralled so it made a significant difference.”

Andrew is planning to recruit in the near future to leave him even better-equipped to meet the needs of motorists in and around Nuneaton.

“To continue with our business plans I need a mechanic and a tester to free up my time to work on the business rather than just in the business,” he said. “At the moment there is not much time to do the marketing and social media which is such a big part of business these days.

“The Escalator training has been integral to our growth. In 2022, we served 259 people. Then I took Jason on in 2023 and served 628 people. Then we served 735 in 2024 and already this year, to the end of August, we’ve served 864 – 100 a month.

“The MOT training was crucial because the MOT scheme is a very serious scheme. We are working for the Ministry of Transport and issuing Ministry of Transport documents so our site, qualifications, conditions and my managerial status are all heavily scrutinised.

“It’s not just our reputation, it’s the reputation of the DVSA that we are representing. I am inspecting vehicles for minimum roadworthiness so the standards have to be high and that’s why the quality of training is so important. The Escalator support was priceless and the process was really straightforward. Steven Convery and Laura Delahunty from Warwickshire Skills Hub have been fantastic.”

Steven Convery, Future Skills Business Support Advisor at Warwickshire Skills Hub, said, "It's great to see that the Skills Escalator Fund has proved so valuable to Andrew. The training he underwent, allied to all the hard work he puts in, means that Attleborough Auto Centre will continue to grow and flourish and his increasing number of customers will benefit. This is exactly what the Skills Escalator Fund is for."