A TRAINING group has set up its new base after fully refurbishing a prominent city centre building.

Aspire-igen has this month moved into the former Commerce House on Cheapside, after investing £1.5 million in the building, now dubbed the Opportunity Centre.

They now have 150 staff based in the building. Of these, 50 are new jobs and another 40 are jobs that have been transferred from Leeds.

Based over seven floors, the base will provide careers advice, training, and employability skills.

Around 400 learners will be using the building.

There will also be office space for small, start up businesses to lease on a short term basis and rooms available for hire for conferences and other business events.

People will be able to drop in to the centre to book appointments, or to ask advice, and the group says that the more central location will mean they have much greater visibility to people who previously may have had no idea what Aspire-igen was.

The group works in partnership with groups like Bradford Council as well as schools and colleges.

Caroline Harrison, head of Aspire i, gave a tour of the building to the Telegraph & Argus last week.

On the floor with the start up office space, she said: “People will be able to rent space in these offices and be able to use some of the services offered in this building.”

Spread out over the other floors are Aspire International, which provides advice for working and living abroad, the National Careers Service staff, which offers job advice, and classrooms for young people to learn new skills.

In the coming year the group plans to expand into a neighbouring unit, creating a cafe. They will work with established business Cafe Intouch find a city centre location for it to re-locate.

Mrs Harrison said: “We will have the people who are training on hospitality and catering courses preparing food for the cafe.

“We wanted to raise aspirations and bringing people right into the city centre will help that.

“It is a wonderful location, and there is a great footfall. We are getting quite a lot more drop in clients than we used to in our other locations.

“The staff are all really upbeat about the move. Some staff were a bit worried about relocating from other cities, but they are really excited about it now.”

The building will host its first event later this month - a safeguarding training event for over 125 people.

The group brought the property from from Shipley-based social housing group Incommunities last year.

The building is just a few metres from The Broadway, Bradford Forster Square station, and its lobby looks out over the Midland Hotel, one of Bradford’s grandest buildings.

Aspire i are currently looking to sell or lease its former city centre locations, on John Street and Baptist Place.

Its training centres in Young Street and Barkerend Road will remain open.

The group is planning to have an official opening event in March.

MORE TOP STORIES