UNEMPLOYED people and those who want to change career direction can now harness a panacea to solve their training ills.

For Panacea is the name of a new training organisation in Bury which is helping to equip adults with a range of new and key skills.

Panacea Professional Training Ltd is operated by former Bury College lecturer David Williams and business partner Martin Liles.

The company was launched in Bolton and success there was the springboard for expansion into Bury earlier this year.

Based at Brenton Business Park in Bond Street, the firm employs four staff and provides a range of courses for more than 20 customers at any one time.

David, who was a senior lecturer in management at Bury College from 1990 until 1995, formed a business partnership with Martin, who had retired from the police service.

"Humble beginnings and working from our respective homes led to a rent-a-desk scheme operating at the Bolton Enterprise Centre," recalled David.

"Many hours of hard work led to Panacea winning a small contract at Wigan and then Liverpool during 1996. It was during that time that Panacea Professional Training Ltd was building up a portfolio of NVQ accredited awards that we could offer to our clients."

He added: "The NVQ awards we could offer ranged from a level one in administration to a level five in management."

The company has since gone from strength to strength and today has 16 people on its books.

David said: "The new training premises have up-to-date resources that include modern computers and software, along with Internet facilities.

"We conduct training programmes for Work Based Learning for Adults, New Deal for Young People, New Deal 25 and 50-plus, lone parents and private training work for individuals and organisations."

And the company also offers free information technology training, leading to a recognised NVQ qualification.

Manager of the Bury arm of Panacea is Steve McKeown who is delighted at the success the company has achieved since setting up in the town earlier this year.