Our Story – With Heart, Humour and a Lot of Hands-On Experience
Once upon a time (well, 2005), in a kitchen somewhere in Essex, a determined mother and her slightly less organised but very enthusiastic son decided to start something special. That’s how Good Skills Training came to life – founded by Ruth and Ian Bodsworth with one simple mission: “quality training at affordable prices”. And maybe also a shared love of tea and straight-talking common sense.
From day one, we were adamant that training shouldn’t be boring. If people were going to sit in a room with us for hours, they’d best enjoy it – and better yet, remember it. So, our courses were designed to be fun, interactive and, most importantly, useful. Back then, we focused on First Aid and Food Safety, along with consultancy for food hygiene and outdoor activities. But it wasn’t long before we realised we had more to offer – Health & Safety, Licensing, and other essentials that businesses actually need (and often forget about until something goes wrong…).
As things started to grow, we had a family meeting (over another cup of tea and cake) and agreed it was time for Ian to step back from training and get stuck into building the business. Sales, contracts, networking – all the glamorous stuff. It paid off – we picked up government contracts for Paediatric First Aid and became the go-to trainers for pubs and restaurants. Busy times! We brought in admin support – the first of many brilliant people who’ve helped us grow without losing our marbles … or theirs!
By 2009, Dad (Phill) and sister Helen (now Borino, though we still call her Helen) joined the madness. With their health & safety know-how, leadership skills and strategic minds, we really upped our game. The family business officially became a full team operation – we even had proper titles!
2010 rolled in, and we outgrew the kitchen table and moved into shiny new offices at the Business Centre in Hadleigh. It felt very grown up. From there, we spread our wings, taking on clients from across the UK.
In 2015, we welcomed our first franchise: L&B Training, trading as Good Skills Training Isle of Wight and Hampshire – and they’re now celebrating 10 years with us (no pressure to send cake, but we won’t say no). In 2016, we shifted to our current offices on Hadleigh’s Market Place – nice view, more space, small training room, and even closer to the cake shop!
Then came COVID – and like everyone, we had to adapt fast. While most of the world hit pause, a few of our contracts kept going, so we created rock-solid COVID procedures to keep everyone safe. As things reopened, we gave our training room a makeover – not just to space people out, but to double our training capacity (silver linings!).
In 2022, we proudly became an IOSH Registered Training Centre. That means we now deliver IOSH Managing Safely and Working Safely Courses – ideal for those who like their safety with a side of common sense.
In 2024, we ticked another box – becoming ISO 9001 Certified for delivering training, consultancy services and certificating courses. It’s official: we’ve got systems, standards and still know how to make people laugh while learning CPR.
And last year? We launched our second franchise in Norfolk with Ashley, who has been with us since the beginning – and it’s off to a flying start. We’ve got more plans in the pipeline too open other offices and franchises … so watch this space!
And today…
The team’s grown (a lot). We’ve got:
- Ian – now MD (and still ruthlessly chasing new business whilst looking after existing customers and staff)
- Ruth – Founder & Director (semi-retired, but always watching 👀)
- Helen – Director (Queen of Health & Safety)
- Phill – Director (our wise owl)
- Barbara, Karen, Sara, Melanie, Claire, Kevin, Ella – the brilliant office, finance, sales and social media crew who keep everything running smoothly
- Larry, Barry, Sarah (IOW & Hampshire), Ashley, Sarah (Norfolk) – our amazing franchise family
- And a band of around 100 fabulous freelance trainers & consultants who deliver across the UK the Good Skills way: informative, relevant, and never dull.
We’re still doing what we set out to do 20 years ago – offering quality training at affordable prices, delivered by people who genuinely care (and occasionally wear festive jumpers to sessions).
Here’s to the next 20!