Our Story
Founded by Directors Tony and Lindsey Willson nearly 30 years ago, the Company history is firmly embedded in the delivery and administration of professional training services.
This coupled with a consistent and forward-thinking management style has resulted in the Helmsman Services brand that is widely recognised and respected today.
Over the years the company has been a leader in outsourced training management which was the initial reason for starting then business. It then branched out into health and safety and when classroom training seemed to be going out of fashion, into e-learning.
In 1997 Tony worked with a national house-building company acting as their Investors in People Advisor whilst Lindsey was a trainer for a software product used by many travel agencies.
When Tony’s client struggled to find a supplier to which to outsource their training requirement, Lindsey was persuaded to take on the contract– and the rest as they say, is history!
The Company soon grew and whilst core services were available to many industries it became particularly known for its expert knowledge and understanding of the complex nature of how to successfully secure CITB skills and training grants.
Fast forward to 2005 and when the opportunity arose to start an independent health and safety arm to deliver classroom training, Helmsman Safety Services was set up. This then led to offering a professional advisory service and annual contracts to help clients comply with health and safety legislation, a service which has proven very successful.
By 2017 the way that training and learning was undertaken worldwide had dramatically changed, with the popularity of e-learning courses rising steeply. The financial and care sectors were quick to embrace this new style of learning due, in part, to the many financial advantages it offered. However, this was not replicated across all sectors with a particular lack of uptake amongst employers within the construction industry.
As construction has always been at the heart of the Helmsman brand a suite of health and safety online courses were introduced to encourage the transfer of learning away from the classroom. This more cost-effective method of e-learning also offered the benefit of a reduction in unproductive hours which had previously been lost to training.
As time has gone on, the company decided to divest itself of the training management and health & safety streams, to concentrate on e-learning.
Today, Helmsman Services offers a really broad range of e-training courses to clients across the country and from all industry sectors.
Nicky Carter & Tony Willson -Best Places to Work in Construction Awards
Lindsey Willson – Oyster Award for Business Enterprise