Pictured above: (l-r Thomas King, managing director of K2 Strategies with UK Trade & Investment international trade adviser Rob Lawley

A Tamworth company managing director has just returned from his first project delivering training in Afghanistan, following help from UK Trade & Investment.

Thomas King set up training and recruitment firm K2 Strategies, of Heath Street, in March 2006 after a 20-year career working for blue chip companies in Australia, Switzerland and the UK.

He and ten associates work mainly for large organisations in the telecommunications, construction and financial services sectors. 

The company won the business in Afghanistan through a client in Dubai, whom Thomas met thanks to a lead from UK Trade & Investment's website.

Thomas delivered a week-long course showing customer service managers at a telecommunications firm in Kabul how to focus on quality in a challenging environment.

He will be returning regularly to update their training and this Saturday (5 March) he will be back in the country to deliver a leadership course for government and business officials.

"I was nervous about going but I was also intrigued to find out what Afghanistan is really like and fortunate to gain invaluable advice from a friend who has worked there for the past two years," he said.

"Kabul is certainly the most challenging place I've ever visited. I needed a permanent security guard and the infrastructure is crumbling, but everybody I met couldn't have been more hospitable.

"I'm very pleased that my company can help train and up-skill people to enable them to do more for themselves in the future." 

Over the past year, K2 Strategies has won export business worth at least £90,000 from Dubai, Switzerland and Egypt, following help from UKTI - the Government department that helps British firms develop their export business. The company is now targeting Poland and Austria.

Thomas added: "We have had excellent support from UKTI over the past three years, firstly through the Passport scheme for new exporters, and afterwards with ongoing advice through our international trade adviser, Rob Lawley, who is a great source of information and help.

"UKTI's commercial team at the British Embassy in Cairo have been very helpful - we won business after making new contacts at an event that they organised. The client is a large training organisation and we have partnered together to deliver a sales training programme across several sectors including telecommunications and financial services. I anticipate this will be a very good market for us when the political situation has settled down.

"We have also found UKTI's website to be an invaluable source of leads that have enabled us to win export business, such as identifying a new client in Dubai."

International trade adviser Rob Lawley, based at North Staffordshire Chamber of Commerce, said: "It's very rare for us to work with a company that is undertaking business in Afghanistan, for obvious reasons. 

"However, Thomas is very experienced in travelling to locations 'off the beaten track' and I'm glad UKTI has been able to help him win business in this challenging country."