A NEW Telecoms training school set for the town centre is hoped to create about 200 extra jobs within the next two years.

Redditch-based company SE Comms Ltd is setting up the training school and has taken out leases on two units at Empire Court in Albert Street, off Prospect Hill, as part of an expansion programme.

Managing director Stuart Evans said: "There is a massive shortage of people with the right skills in this field so we have set up our own training school to train the personnel we shall be needing in the years ahead."

SE Comms carries out telecom installation work including fibre optic cabling and telephone exchange components, and has contracts in the Sudan, Barbados, Dubai, and Oman.

Its sister company, SET Recruitment, specialises in recruiting personnel for telecom companies across the world.

Both companies were founded by Mr Evans in Redditch six years ago after he was made redundant by his former employers and have grown in that time from a workforce of six to more than 50.

And now, with the help of property agent John Truslove, the company is looking to expand even further.

Mr Evans added: "We needed to move from our previous location so I asked them to find some new units for me and they were really helpful - it all went like clockwork.

"We have only just moved in and these are really exciting times for us. We started small and have gradually grown over a period of time and now we have this large expansion programme. We are very pleased with how it is going."