Trend Consult, one of the largest staff training companies in Romania, said its revenues stood at €210,000 in the first quarter of the year to levels recorded before the onset of the financial crisis.

Compared to the first quarter of 2009, Trend Consult’s revenues for the three months period ending March 31 climbed 30%.

“Even though the beginning of the year was and it still is very challenging at least until our customers’ business direction becomes clear, we anticipate a pickup in training sessions demand, with order backlog accumulated due to the stagnation of the market in the past two years. We believe that we’ll see a flurry of activity in the last two quarters of 2010 compared to the same period of 2008”, said Adrian Florea, managing partner Trend Consult.

The company predicts a year-on-year increase in revenues of 30% from €960,000 in 2009.

“In 2010, the customization level of training programs will improve. We’ll see more and more tailor-made programs that will be far removed from the standard format”, said Florea.

The companies that earmarked the most in training in 2010 have been those in banking, IT&C sectors and industry, according to Trend Consult.

In February this year, Trend Consult opened in Poland its second office outside Romanian borders. The investment for opening the subsidiary stood at €150,000. Trend Consult holds 70% shares in the overseas office, and the remaining 30% shares are held by a local partner. In 2008, the company made its first move abroad, when it opened an office in Austria that represented an investment of €300,000.