Pro-Development believes that to grow and develop your business, one of the key areas of focus should be on growing and developing your people.
Pro-Development was founded to deliver bespoke people, learning and development solutions which drive value and achieve the right outcomes for your business. With over 80 years combined experience in the learning and development profession, we have a passion for delivering solutions that make a difference to both individuals and your business.
Our approach is to work with you as a partner, always ensuring that the work we do together has a clear and focussed outcome that adds value and makes a real difference. We tailor every solution to meet the needs of your business.
Our Vision, Misson and Values
Our vision is to be the most trusted partner for employee engagement and development in Yorkshire and the Humber, creating thriving and productive workplaces, transforming people, teams and businesses, and driving regional economic growth.
Our values are Making a Difference, Trusted, Creative and Vibrant. We use these values to guarantee that when we work with you, you will have a warm, energetic, transparent and enjoyable experience which focuses on achieving results.
Where did we start?
In 2010, Michelle Mook, our founder, was working for a global corporate organisation. After undertaking some coaching for herself, she realised that her real passion was making a difference and that to do this in a way which would help her to feel fulfilled, she wanted to work with small and medium sized businesses in Yorkshire and the Humber – the place she had grown up and loved.
So, in 2011, she made the brave (or crazy we sometimes say!) decision to set up Pro-Development. Her aim was to create a ‘different kind of learning company’. Michelle knew that she wanted to make transformative change to local businesses across the Yorkshire region and to build a team of likeminded, inspiring people as passionate as her about delivering this. She wanted to create a workplace where people are proud to work and to support other organisations to do the same. It was always important to Michelle that people feel they can bring their authentic selves to work and express their uniqueness and for the environment to encourage this – a rustic, unpolished, real workplace that other local businesses can easily relate to.
Pro-Development started it’s life in the back of Michelle’s converted garage and she began her quest to work with local SMEs and the great work of Pro-Development began
At the time this felt like a significant step for the business but we knew that unless we started to grow the team, we would be limited to how many businesses we would be able to help. Although it was a bit scary at the time, it was the best decision we ever made and has helped us to fulfil more of our desire to make a difference to businesses in our region.
Michelle Mook, Managing Director
How have we grown?
Three years later, in 2015, Michelle realised they were going to have to recruit more people and spent time looking for just the right place that would continue to reflect what Pro-Development were all about. Finding just the right place, Pro-Development moved offices to Unit 7, Forest Farm Business Park and recruited another trainer and their first L&D Administrator, Steph Edwards, who then went on to become an integral part of the team looking after sales and marketing.
Like many businesses we experienced a challenging time through COVID but this is where our brand and personality really shone through. We knew our clients were struggling but nobody was prepared to spend money as everyone was so worried, so we stepped into our own and ran a number of free events and support including webinars and a people panel call every day to support our clients, suppliers and partners. This resulted in a growth spurt following in 2021 where our team doubled.
As often happens when we experience difficult times, it also can provide opportunities. Tracey Flannery, who had been a client when she worked with Pro-Development as CEO of York Science Park, joined us in 2020 and worked closely with Michelle to grow the business. Tracey loved helping with the growth and in 2022, Tracey became a shareholder and business partner and together, they continued to grow from strength to strength.
To accommodate our growth, we extended our space in 2021 and moved across the courtyard at Forest Farm to Unit 4 and then in 2022 also took over Unit 5 which became our Training suite and meeting room area.
What next?
We are all very excited about the future and the work we are doing across our region and we look forward to continuing to do this with even more clients. We are looking forward to welcoming even more people to our team and continuing our ambition to help to make Yorkshire and the Humber a great place to work for everyone and to support our clients to becoming high performing workplaces who help to grow our local economy.
Be the leader
you were born to be!
Start your journey
The Remarkable Leadership Programme had a great impact on me was I was able to build my own personal ‘authentic voice’ and ‘style’. This programme brought me closer to my team by implementing outcomes of the course, allowing me to have honest and open conversations with my colleagues and develop my own comfort and confidence within my current role. My experience has been extremely positive throughout. Working with Abi and the wider Pro-Development team was a genuinely valuable and enriching experience. They consistently offered thoughtful insights into the wider context of leadership, helping me to see beyond day-to-day management and consider leadership from a more strategic and reflective perspective. The coaching also constructively challenged many of my pre-held assumptions about what effective leadership looks like, encouraging deeper self-awareness and personal growth. I came away with clearer thinking, greater confidence in my approach, and practical tools that I continue to apply in my professional life. Professional yet highly personable, Abi is an excellent coach who offers valuable insight into the realities of leading others in the workplace. The Pro-Development team challenge your beliefs in a thoughtful and constructive way, helping you to reflect on and deepen your understanding of leadership. Their approach ensures that learning is not only insightful but also practical and personally meaningful.
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