AN online firm that helps people find places on training courses has enjoyed rapid growth in its first six months in business.

Helptrainingcourses.com was launched in July last year by County Durham entrepreneurs Craig Fantarrow and John Patrick.

The firm has since won the support of more than 200 training providers and enabled access to thousands of courses.

The company has now enhanced its website to allow users to register for automatic notifications and updates on courses.

It has also taken on three more staff to support its expansion.

As well as helping members of the public sign up to courses, the business is also aiming to encourage training and human resources managers of large national firms to book courses through its site.

Mr Fantarrow said: “Since setting the site up in July, we have seen signs of the market changing rapidly and we believe we are single-handedly altering the way people buy training.”

“We have gone from strength to strength over the past six months and the site has more than 200 training providers and thousands of courses to choose from and we are growing every day thanks to the team,” said Mr Patrick, who also runs his own software and consultancy firm.