All Trades Training Limited is a training facility offering one and two week intensive courses in plastering, wall & floor tiling, painting & decorating and artex and coving, we began trading in January 2008.

I do my business banking online and noticed the HSBC Start-Up Stars Awards logo on the website and clicked on the link, the awards sounded exciting so I applied there and then!

At ATT believe we have a fantastic product and this was recognised by the judges, we were invited to attend a networking event in Birmingham during June and was advised the Midlands Regional Finalists would be announced on the evening.

It was a lovely evening and after an hour or so one by one the companies were announced and I was literally holding my breath! Yes! ATT was announced. After some photographs I went back to my hotel grasping my certificate which now proudly hangs in our training centre.

Since Birmingham we have been very busy, we have started a Social Enterprise to enable us to gain funding which will be used to train vulnerable groups such as young and adult offenders, long term unemployed, young people excluded from education and those with learning difficulties.

From our course the learner can gain a National Open College Network level 2 qualification, in our experience, this is the only time these groups have received any formal award which boosts their self esteem immensely. We have designed our courses so no written or exam work is required, therefore we do not exclude any client groups from gaining achievement.

We are currently in negotiations with a local council to provide learners to use their new skills in real properties providing maintenance ie painting and decorating, plastering, artexing and tiling services to vulnerable tenants. The learners will become volunteers and work in supervised groups in the more deprived communities in Norwich, bringing properties back to a good standard where needed and bringing pride back into homes and areas.

The volunteers will use their new skills and this experience can be placed onto their CV, we can offer a reference to employers of their abilities and our aim is to get people into gainful employment. I am currently speaking with recruitment agencies and employers in the area to build on our success so far.

Fingers crossed for the next stage of the HSBC Start-Up Stars Awards!