2022 was a big year for Portland Training. Here’s a quick recap of the highlights.
‘Fast Track to Construction’ debuts in Wakefield
After the roaring success of Fast Track to Construction in Lincoln and Gainsborough, we decided to branch out. Bringing our signature course to Wakefield was no mean feat. The course covers construction health and safety, highways maintenance and dumper driving. On top of all that, some of the course is classroom based. The site needed to be pretty versatile! Thanks to the heroic efforts of our team, we were able to set up something we’re really proud of. You can see some of our learners enjoying it in the photos above!
Entering Peterborough!
At Portland, we believe the training and opportunities we provide make a difference to people’s lives. That’s why we try to make our services available to as many people as possible. With this in mind, we bid for the opportunity to deliver our courses in Fenland and the surrounding areas. We worked hard on our bid, honing in on what the area needed and what we could offer that was unique. We’re thrilled to say the Cambridge and Peterborough Combined Authority accepted our bid! We look forward to delivering an array of exciting courses there. Watch this space.
And more…
Entering new regions is great, but we didn’t forget about the regions we already have the go-ahead to operate in. In 2022 we doubled down our expansion into these territories, launching our first courses in Leicester, Lincoln, Derby, Stoke, Bradford, and Nuneaton.
Investors in People Gold – Again!
The Investors in People Accreditation can only be earned by organisations that demonstrate a commitment to investing in their employees with opportunities for training and development. Only 17% of IIRP Accredited organisations achieve Gold accreditation, demonstrating the highest level of commitment to developing their employees. We were thrilled to get our status as an Investors in People Gold company renewed in 2022. It goes to show that our commitment to training and development doesn’t end with our learners. It’s how we do things internally too.
Portland’s Murder Mystery Adventure
Who says that team-building events at work have to be bland, cringe-inducing affairs? Not us. This July, Portland treated it’s staff to an interactive murder mystery adventure! After crawling Sheffield City Centre for clues, we were treated to free pizza and drinks at Kelham Island’s Craft and Dough. Not bad for a Friday afternoon!
Supporting the Armed Forces.
We’re proud to say that in 2022, we signed the Armed Forces Covenant Pledge. This is a pledge that organisations and businesses can make, to support the armed forces community. This includes current and former members of the military, their families, and reservists. The pledge has two parts
1) Those who serve in the Armed Forces, whether Regular or Reserve, those who have served in the past, and their families, should face no disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public and commercial services.
2) Special consideration is appropriate in some cases, especially for those who have given most such as the injured and the bereaved.
Portland has sworn to uphold this pledge, with regards to not only our learners but our own employees as well. Our Head of Marketing, Craig Shaw served in the navy as an “Operator Mechanic (first class) Warfare”. He said of the scheme ‘It really is an excellent idea. I’m thrilled to see Portland Training offering their support for members of the armed forces community’.
Matrix Accredited!
Companies like ours are reviewed by ‘Matrix’ every three years to assess the quality of the information, advice and guidance that we give to learners. In 2022, the time came for our tri-annual review, and we passed with flying colours! Matrix were particularly impressed with the genuine care our team have for learners, our business culture, and our strong collaborations with partner organisations. All of these things ensure that when learners come to us for information, advice and guidance, they get the very best.
Giving back at Christmas.
Every year, Portland Training does something for local charities at Christmas time. We feel this special time of year is the perfect excuse to give back to the communities we work in throughout the country.
In 2022, we decided on donating selection boxes to local food banks. We knew our team would come through for us, but we couldn’t have anticipated the response. Within only a week, we had amassed over 200 selection boxes! We hope it brought a smile to some little faces on Christmas day!
Christmas Celebrations!
We had to end the year with a bang!
We treated our staff to a Christmas party afternoon at the office where we had Christmas games, prizes, great food and of course, Portland’s infamous Christmas Quiz.
We then hired out a space at Magna for our annual Christmas celebration. We treated the team to a three-course meal in a stunning location, and topped it all off with indoor dodgems (after the food had settled of course).
And that’s all! If you were a part of our journey, as an employee, partner organisation or learner, thank you. And if you weren’t, we hope to work with you in 2023. We have plenty of big things planned!
