A need for continuous improvement is evident across estates and facilities, building services and engineering, as industry works to stay in-line with Government guidance across the board. Our MD, Gary Cooper discusses the efforts we have gone to in 2023 to meet the high standards expected by our clients, and the delegates that attend our courses.

It has become a tradition of sorts that I provide a bit of a company update for you, our valued client base, around this festive period. As always, the first and most important thing that I would like to communicate is our gratitude to you, but also our members of staff and our industry partners as we celebrate another record breaking year for PPL Training.

Looking Back

We have welcomed well over 9,000 delegates to our York, Slough and Livingston centres in 2023, with even more receiving on-site and remote training. Our team has visited and exhibited at 12 trade shows and events, as well as hosting 2 of our own in-house Fire & AGL conferences and exhibitions. 

But we have also done so much more…

Third Party Recognition

Receiving third party recognition for our training courses is not a new thing for us, however, we recently moved to a new quality benchmark under the City & Guilds umbrella - City & Guilds Assured. The majority of our portfolio is now recognised as City & Guilds Assured, with over 80 courses designed to tackle specific compliance challenges within Mechanical and Electrical Systems, Water Hygiene, F-Gas Handling, Fire Safety and Airfield Lighting among others.

Alongside our courses, the process of standardisation and the ultimate certification of our integrated management system has been completed this year. 

ISO 9001 and 14001 certificates have now been received, with the successful completion of ISO audits recently undertaken. This recognises our efforts to manage and ensure quality for each delegate who takes part in our courses, whilst also acknowledging our plans and ongoing efforts to reduce our carbon emissions and overall environmental impact as we do our bit to save the planet.

What’s New?

As ever, throughout the year a raft of new training courses have been made available to you and your teams. 

On the electrical side of the business we have brought ​a number of new HV training courses to market, alongside a City & Guilds 2921-31 EV charging qualification and our remote, tutor-led substation entry course.

Specifically for healthcare estates and facilities, we have launched Authorised Person Lifts HTM 08-02 courses (including refresher training and Trapped Passenger Lift Release). On top of this we are offering Ventilation Awareness HTM 03-01, designed specifically for the Ventilation Safety Group, as well as an NHS Premises Assurance Model course which recently received a fantastic review from one of our NHS Trusts.

We have even ventured into training for clinical staff, with our self-paced e-learning course Medical Gas Safety Training for Clinical Users. 

Continued Collaboration

Our team has attended many exhibitions and conferences this year, many of which were organised and backed by our industry partners. Organisations such as IHEEM, AUE, and a new partner for 2023/4 - SafetyOn, have offered fantastic opportunities for networking and continued development throughout the year. 

A particular highlight for us, and myself personally, was our part in IHEEM’s 80th birthday celebrations in Manchester. The night before and for the duration of Healthcare Estates conference and exhibition, we set out to portray the gratitude that was felt towards the institute within the healthcare sector. We also highlighted the importance of the collective commitment of all of IHEEM’s knowledge partners to provide and maintain high standards of professional development opportunities required by the NHS estate and beyond. 

Moving Forward

Looking ahead to 2024, we will continue to explore further third party recognition of internal systems and training courses, with the process already underway for other industry specific accreditations. This will increase the value and wider recognition for the training that we provide.

We are also working alongside IHEEM to bring their local branch events to our training centres, in an effort to support the institute and the important conversations that help to shape the guidance and legislation that healthcare estates are expected to adhere to.

Our Commitment

Our commitment to you is that we will continue to respond to environmental and legislative changes by updating our training materials and where possible, being part of the conversations that technical platforms and advisory boards are having across the UK and beyond. We will also endeavour to maintain the standards that have brought us our recent accreditations with the ISO and City & Guilds for the benefit of our learners in attendance and the environment as a whole. In short…

We will continue to deliver excellence as standard. 

Gary Cooper 

Managing Director, PPL Training LTD.

One Last Thing…

To help us continually provide the training that you need, in the locations and with the capacity that you require, we are asking you - what is on your training wish list for 2024?

But what’s in it for you?

Your answers will:

• Help us to shape our open course programme for 2024
• Provide insight into your needs for your account manager
• Ensure that you receive updates about the training and development opportunities that matter to you most

Not only this, but with each survey completed we will plant a tree on UK soil to help combat CO2 emissions, in conjunction with Ecologi.