Castle Worldwide is relocating its headquarters to a larger building to allow the company to expand its employee base.

Castle, a developer of professional certification exams and of online training programs, will move from its current 9,000 sq. ft. facility to a 12,000 sq. ft. office located at Perimeter Office Park on Airport Boulevard in RTP.

The move will allow the company to expand from its current headcount of 26 to 50 employees, it says, although only a few positions are expected to be added in the immediate future.

“We added a string of new clients in 2003, received expanded work from existing clients, and we are extremely optimistic about the coming fiscal year,” said Jeff LaRiche, chairman and CEO of Castle. “Our new online training and testing modules, study guides and preparation materials — expand our core business offerings and further establishes Castle as a forward-thinking company in the certification and licensure examination industry.”

Castle says its new approach evaluates an employee’s knowledge of the material before he or she trains, builds a customized course for the needs of each learner, and certifies that they have a specified level of competence.

“Pre-testing minimizes employee downtime by allowing them to skip familiar topics and to concentrate only on new training material,” Castle Vice President Jim Henderson said. “Pre-testing also provides a significant assessment that allows a manager to see what material an employee may need for additional training.”

Clients include professional associations and companies in industries such as healthcare, counseling, engineering, design, and management. In addition, the company says 19 percent of accredited certifying agencies are Castle clients.

Just last week, Castle completed a new $1.2 million online application and registration system for the Washington Board of Accountancy. Beginning in April 2004, state boards of accountancy in Washington will begin administering a new computerized version of the Uniform CPA Examination.

Castle’s examinations are administered at more than 400 established test sites throughout the United States and abroad. To date, the company has completed more than 100 national and global examination engagements.

Castle Worldwide: www.castleworldwide.com