JIM Buckley suspects some of CBT's employees in Clonskeagh have already illicitly downloaded embarrassing video, footage of him from the internet. It shows their new president revving up a Harley Davidson motorcycle, doing a wheelie across a stage packed with, executives, then careering into the orchestra pit.

"Yeah, yeah. It's true. It was a publicity thing for Apple, and I hit the gas instead of the clutch," he confesses. "Nothing was injured except my pride."

Now he's on another runaway vehicle; when CBT first listed on NASDAQ in April 1995 one share cost $16 (£10). This week, the price was at $58 1/8.

Also this week, CBT along with Forbairt and the Minister for Enterprise and Employment Richard Bruton, announced an expansion of the company's Dublin base. Under the programme, CBT's workforce at Clonskeagh will rise from 150 now to 320 by 1998.

CBT designs computer programmes that teach how to operate computers. In effect, the company is in competition with real teachers in real classrooms. In the United States alone, it's a business worth $6 billion, and CBT is gaining more and more share of the market.

Its Chief Executive is Belfastman Bill McCabe: "Eighty per cent is still spent on classroom education. But there's a paradigm shift going on as people don't have the time to go out to classroom. They want to bring education in house."

Secondly, he points out, there's an information explosion going on with large companies using more technology than ever before. This means that there's more training required.

"Enter a company like CBT. And because of the power now available on the desktop, real interactive power, rich graphics, we can now create a very compelling learning experience. So the backdrop in the 1990s is right for the emergence of a company like CBT.

Mr McCabe took over the company in 1991, when he was 34. Two years later, he moved its headquarters to San Francisco. Rather than hire a distribution network, CBT developed its own sales force. Infused with what Mr McCabe describes as a missionary zeal, the firm targeted the top 1,000 companies in America. It worked and CBT now has alliances with Microsoft, IBM, Oracle, Lotus and Cisco to teach their software.

"We characterise ourselves as being a little like Switzerland. We want to be allies with everyone, and we don't want to be in competition with anyone. I think the software vendors appreciate that, and understand that in this building we have the latest software from Microsoft and from Oracle, but they respect that we're not going to do anything that would cause them competitive difficulties," he says.

Another' reason for the company's remarkable success so far is its deft use of what Mr McCabe calls `contract backlog'. Under this system, CBT signs contracts for three years, but only recognises the contemporary portion of the payment in its accounts. It gives the firm a rental business model, which allows great visibility in its future performances.

"We've got all those unrecognised portions of contracts - we can see them ahead of time, quarterly or annually. It allows us to make the correct kind of investment decision. It's unique in the world of information technology to have that kind of visibility and forcastability in your revenues. Most technology companies are scrambling at the end of the quarter - the last day of the quarter! - to get as much billing done as they possibly can," Mr McCabe says.

And if there's one thing Wall Street loves most, it's predictable, recurring revenues. Factor in that CBT is in a high growth niche of a high growth market, and the enthusiasm of NASDAQ investors is understandable.

Mr McCabe says he may list the company on the Irish stock exchange in the future, but would not consider going on any other European market.

In the chair beside Bill McCabe, is Jim Buckley (45) the former vice president of Apple Computers, who started his new job seven weeks ago. Now, he is planning CBT's future.

"Eighty per cent of our business is in the United States. We need to expand the markets we do business in to other places around the world. And, by the way, the English versions will work in those parts of the world, like Australia, the Pacific Rim, Hong Kong, Singapore - English is fine with IS professionals there," he says.

In June, CBT bought a German computer training company for around £1.25 million. The acquisition gives the firm access to the German market, and to English versions of the German training software.

Mr Buckley says he will also target governments, which spend large amounts training their computer professionals.

But the big push will be into the universities:

"We're going to expand our business into education - we're going to actually do this next year - in higher education in the United States and Canada. We're starting to put together the organisation and the people to do that."

Bill McCabe interjects: "Think of the advantage that college kids will have coming out, not just equipped with a computer science degree, which is rather esoteric, but actually kids that can come out of college being able to use NT, being able to use Lotus Notes, Oracle databases. Think how much more marketable they will be than they are today, with a more conceptual computer science degree. And colleges see that."

Both men believe that CBT can maintain its rapid growth pattern for years to come. All they have to do, says Mr McCabe, is watch what software is dominating, and teach people how to use it. If they're right, that could mean being a $500 million company within five years.

And, says Bill McCabe, CBT will stay in Ireland: "We're an Irish company - where else would we go? We think this is the right place for it."