Bradford training groups have laid on extra business planning courses because of an increased demand from people wanting to start their own firms.

The Morrison Trust and R&D Associates have both run additional courses in the past few weeks because more people want to become self-employed or want to pick up business skills.

A total of 250 people have completed the Business Planning Programme since September 1996.

It is a joint venture with the Morrison Trust, National Westminster Bank, Bradford & District Training & Enterprise Council and Bradford & District Newspapers, publishers of the Telegraph & Argus.

Since the start of this year, the Trust has put on additional evening and daytime courses because of a surge of interest in them from unemployed people or those looking to set up in business - attracting up to 35 people a course compared with the usual 16.

One of the reasons for the rise is the increased promotion of the courses by Bradford TEC.

This has allowed the Trust and R&D to advertise their courses more heavily.

But Tony Holdich, the Trust's programme controller, said today: "Some of the people who take up these courses are unemployed, but a number are people who have been made redundant a number of times and fear job insecurity. They feel they will get a better deal if they create their own business."

Niki Morvinson, the new office manager at R&D Associates, based in Little Germany, said they had been putting on extra courses because of a rise in demand.

R&D runs one-day courses which give people an insight into business planning and also six-session courses which go into more detail.

She said: "New people are sitting in the training groups and when we find out about them we discover some have been made redundant and they want job security, but most are unemployed people."

Both training providers run business courses for people with good ideas but who do not know how to go about setting up a company.

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