AccXel was founded by Nicola Bird, third generation of a £80m construction company based in Gloucestershire.
It was through discussions of succession planning, that it became worryingly apparent that the skills and people are not available to support future growth plans for the business, or even maintain the current market share over the next 5- 10 years.
With a background in construction training and safety management, Nicola carried out business case studies over 4 years in development, creating a bespoke apprenticeship model which better suited the industry.
Over that period Nicola conducted many seminars and talks to industry to discover and grow what she had already discovered.
In October 2020, Nicola & K W Bell Group were awarded £1.96m by HM Government and GFirst LEP via the ‘Getting Building Fund’ to build and create AccXel, the UK’s first co-funded Construction Skills Accelerator Centre.
AccXel is not just a training school, it is an ideology based upon experience, data, strong values and the aspiration of future proofing the industry.
Family business is where it started and how it grows. Nicola shares this new venture with her father Pete, mother Yvonne, and sister Natalie.
