A bright future is forecast for Zodiac.

Byline: Andrew Mernin

ATRAINING company will create 90 jobs and open six new offices following exponential growth fuelled by recession-hit firms looking to broaden the skills of their workforce.

Gateshead's Zodiac Training has added six new North East offices to its existing stock of three, all of which will open by the end of next month as it deals with soaring demand for its vocational courses.

The business has seen its workforce surge from 75 to 160 in the last 12 months and will now create another 90 positions in the coming year. The company currently has training facilities Gateshead's Team Valley, South Shields and Sunderland and is in the process of opening several new branches across Tyne and Wear and Northumberland, including three in Wansbeck. The firm's turnover has doubled in the last two years to pounds 6m and marketing manager Chris Green believes Zodiac is on target to pass the pounds 10m-a-year mark be 2011.

According to Mr Green the company is prospering in adverse financial conditions as bosses look to get more out of their staff as they seek a path through the recession.

He said: "Part of the reason we are doing so well is because people who have staff want to get the best out of them right now and be in a good position when the recession ends to take full advantage. This is by far the best year we have ever had as a business in terms of our revenue growth, number of staff, number of offices."

Zodiac was launched in 1996 and offers training and development programmes to public and private sector clients who, in the past, include GNER and Npower.

It was founded by Lilian Mains and Jacqui Neville and was initially purely focused on public sector training with work including helping the unemployed find work and helping young people gain vocational qualifications and skills.

It has since diversified into recruitment services and has a portfolio of over 30 different short or longer-term courses. As well as helping employers navigate through tough economic conditions, training courses such as those offered by Zodiac could be the best way for workers to avoid redundancy. The latest figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) show that skilled workers are far less likely to lose their jobs in the recession than unskilled staff.

ONS data showed the unemployment rate among the elementary occupations - including cleaners, labourers, and porters - jumped to 12.2% in the first quarter of 2009, from 8.4% in the first three months of 2008.

Meanwhile the rate among managers and senior officials over the same period rose to 2.9% from 1.9% - a bigger percentage increase but starting from a much lower base.