THE owner of a York professional development agency has been shortlisted for a national award after completing a project with the Cabinet Office.

Michelle Mook, who set up Pro-Development in 2011, and has seen turnover triple in the last three years, is in the running for the Learning & Development Professional of the Year 2014 title in the Training Journal Awards.

Mrs Mook said: "We are just a small firm compared to some of the other nominees that have been chosen for this amazing award but it proves that you do not have to be big to catch the eye of the judges.

"We are delighted to be a finalist and this is recognition of our commitment to growing and developing people and is a tremendous achievement."

The award was for delivering a change programme for the Cabinet Office described as “game-changing”.

Although Mrs Mook spent a lot of time in London with the project, Pro-Development usually works in and around Yorkshire and the Humber with SMEs focussing on the growth of their business through employee engagement and development.

Mrs Mook said: "We are really proud of what we have achieved and the work we are doing to support the growth of business in this area."

The Awards ceremony will be held at the TJ Awards Gala Dinner on November 26 at The Brewery in London.

Earlier this year Pro-Development enjoyed a successful launch of a new Management Development Programme which is providing managers and leaders with a series of workshops combined with coaching over 6 months using experiential learning techniques.