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Entrepreneurial female duo launch Tyneside training business to improve healthcare standards

Training professionals Wendy Pryde and Helen Miller have launched their own specialist training business, Leaf Training Limited, in North Tyneside following support from The Business Factory.

The entrepreneurial duo, who share a background in helping health and social care workers all over the UK, are aiming to improve standards across the industry.

Wendy, from Whitley Bay and Helen from Tynemouth have worked in the sector for more than 25 years as trainers and assessors and in management roles and understand first-hand the challenges the industry faces to ensure that quality standards are maintained.

Leaf Training Limited will help care providers across the region to tackle the issues that their industry faces, ensuring that employees are equipped with the rights skills and knowledge to provide high standards of care.

The care industry has in recent years been criticised for its failings to meet acceptable standards of care and Helen and Wendy are hoping that their quality-focused approach will help businesses and organisations across the region to ensure their employees and volunteers are fully trained to meet the demands of their roles.

Leaf Training Limited, which is based in the newly renovated Town Hall Business Centre in Wallsend, has been awarded centre approval to deliver apprenticeship programmes and accredited government-funded training as well as offering a range of private training solutions for businesses within the sector.

Wendy, who was previously the national manager for one of the UK’s largest vocational training providers said: “Ensuring quality standards are met throughout the care industry is so important; we are faced with an ever ageing population which has brought about an increased demand for care provision so it is essential that we have a skilled workforce to who can deliver.

“We recognise that the vast majority of care providers are committed to delivering high standards but it is the lack of consistency in the levels of training and development amongst a minority of providers that causes the problems to arise.

“The care industry is most certainly a challenging place to work, but with appropriate training it can be hugely rewarding. Leaf Training Limited aims to help care providers and care homes across the region ensure that their staff have the necessary skills and competencies to meet the demands of their roles.”

Leaf Training Limited has been set up with the help and support of North Tyneside Council’s Business Factory; the local authority’s business support service which has helped to create more than 1,100 new businesses since its launch in 2010.

Helen added: “The Business Factory has been a great source of support for us, helping us to prepare fully for the challenges of running our own business. The specialist marketing support that they have provided has helped us to really cement our offering and instil us with increased confidence to drive the business forward and the advice on finding the right premises from which to base the training centre led us to The Town Hall Business Centre, which is the ideal location for a business like ours.”

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