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Past
Skills Holidays, the trading arm of Skills Motor Coaches, originated in
Radford, Nottingham in 1919. It became a limited company in 1958.
Founder
Arthur Skill, the current Managing Director’s
grandfather, began by using his only lorry to collect fish from the early
morning market and for light haulage during the day. Soon, he began carrying
local miners to Bestwood Colliery, and in 1921, he purchased a Crossley
charabanc – Skills' first true bus.
A workers’ service to the Celanese factory at Spondon was followed in 1927 by
services to Bridlington and Scarborough, and later to Mablethorpe, Skegness,
Cleethorpes, and Southend-on-Sea. From 1937 onwards, the purchase of other
operators has, at various times, added colliery services to Bilsthorpe and
Gedling, stage carriage services to East Bridgford and Bestwood, shop premises
on Alfreton Road, and a picking-up point and booking office on Derby Road,
Nottingham.
Nigel Skill began work with the family business while at
school. During school holidays he and his four brothers and sister would help to
clean the coaches and then see them off from Skills bus station at the bottom of
Derby Road (nowadays the site of the large roundabout at the top of Maid Marian
Way). As a teenager he would cycle from his home in Blidworth to earn pocket
money cleaning coaches, leaving home at 4am. His father, who was by now running
the firm, insisted they all learned to drive early and at ten years of age,
Nigel would manoeuvre coaches round the depot for washing.
Nigel Skill bought the firm in 1987
and became Managing
Director.
Continental tours had been introduced in the late 1970s, and following deregulation
in the industry in 1986, Skills has concentrated on the coaching side of the
industry, investing in a first class fleet of modern vehicles, and offering
luxury coach holidays ranging from day trips and weekend breaks to extensive tours
of Europe and beyond.
For the firm’s 80th anniversary of service to Nottingham and Nottinghamshire,
staff raised over £26,000 for charity in six months.
In May 2002, Skills Motor Coaches moved to a new larger headquarters building
with
garage and workshops bringing to an end the company’s long association with the
city’s Radford district. Mrs Sylvia Skill, daughter-in-law of the founder, Arthur Skill
and mother of two of today’s directors, cut the first turf in a ceremony to mark
the start of work on the £1.5 million development. The new premises at The
Holiday Centre on Bulwell’s Seller’s Wood Drive / Belgrave Road, which became
necessary as the Skills' fleet of luxury coaches grew, provides a single
location for office, administration and call centre facilities as well as paint
and workshop areas and parking.The company changed its name to Skills
Holidays to coincide with the relocation.
(Written by Graham Percy
retired BBC presenter)
Present
Today Skills provides coach holidays, day excursions and private hire to the UK
and Europe. Skills currently operate a fleet of 50 modern touring coaches from
the new purpose built 2.5 acre site in Nottingham. Skills has been selling coach
travel and holidays to customers for over 90 years, providing coach holidays to
people in the East Midlands and South Yorkshire. In 2007 the company
successfully expanded its pickup network to London & South East of England
offering an exciting tour program at competitive prices to its customers and
still operates from today.
The company stills remains a family-run company and is currently managed by
grandsons Nigel Skill (Managing Director), Simon Skill (Financial Director) with
Peter Hallam (Operations Director)
Two retail outlets in the Nottingham area provide the full range of
travel services to both corporate and public customers. A continued investment
programme in state of the art technology coupled with annual vehicle purchases
mean Skills will continue to deliver its high quality stylish service throughout
the 21st century.
In 2008, Skills took over the
business, vehicle fleet and contracts of Motorvation, the Nottingham
based private hire and contract hire carrier.
In 2009, Skills successfully
acquired Sportability, offering a service catering for the educational leisure
business sector allowing further growth in surrounding markets.
Future
Skills are, and will constantly maintain themselves at the forefront of the
coach tourism industry. Every year the company updates their fleet of
coaches, investing millions of pounds, giving their customers the very best in
eco friendly modern touring coaches that Europe has to offer.
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