Midlands training boss visits House of Lords event

Rob Colbourne, chief executive of leading Midlands training group Performance Through People (PTP) attended an event at the House of Lords to celebrate the UK’s top apprenticeship employers.

The special lunch reception at the upper Parliamentary chamber followed the launch of the Top 50 SME Apprenticeship Employers 2022, which featured PTP.

Attendees included representatives from other employers who featured in this year’s rankings, along with members of the apprenticeships directorate at the Department of Education.

The official ranking in the Top 50 SME Apprenticeship Employers was awarded to PTP for its vital work boosting the career opportunities for both young people and adults across the Midlands.

The leader boards, devised by the Department of Education, showcase the very best of England’s apprenticeship employers, with those listed providing the most successful apprenticeship programmes over the previous 12 months.

The job sectors involved include everything from healthcare and early years care to construction, engineering, manufacturing and logistics, through to business skills in IT, management and team leading.

Rob Colbourne also met former colleague Jo Griffiths at the event, who is now working for Crimson, one of the large employers successful in the top 100 category.

Mr Colbourne said: “The atmosphere was superb with a real sense of achievement and was a great opportunity for the successful employers to meet each other and celebrate.

“Despite PTP wining many awards in the training industry, this achievement felt different and special as it was a recognition of PTP as an employer and celebrating our own apprenticeship programme.

“Our current apprentices include some of whom have just started their careers in the world of work and others who are part of our staff retention and upskilling strategy. We were thrilled to have been listed in the Top 50 Apprenticeship Employers 2022, and it was a special moment to celebrate this with other high achieving employers.

“Our ranking not only reflects the skills and experience of our many staff and tutors, but it also underlines the commitment of the many thousands of apprentices we have helped succeed over the years.”

PTP and the wider BCTG Group offers 166 different types of apprenticeship and 27 pre-apprenticeship programmes for 16 to 18-year-olds.