Member Article

In-Comm Training announce new Operations Director as it looks to build on £7.5m investment drive

One of the West Midlands leading training providers has announced a new senior management team, as it looks to capitalise on recent investment and a record year of performance.

In-Comm Training, which has supported more than 2500 people with apprenticeships and upskilling opportunities in 2018, has promoted Chris Reeves to Operations Director, overseeing the further expansion of academies in Aldridge, Bridgnorth and Shrewsbury.

The former member of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers will join Directors Colin Mills, Geoff Jones and Bekki Phillips on the senior management team, with the latter moving to Managing Director.

This follows news that former joint-MD Gareth Jones will be stepping down from his full-time role in August to concentre on new opportunities. He will still remain as a shareholder and will provide support with strategy, long-term business planning and the development of the In-Comm Training & Manufacturing Group.

“Working with our consortium partners, we have secured and delivered more than £7.5m of investment in creating three world class training centres in the West Midlands,” explained Bekki Phillips.

“It has been a hectic time and the opportunity now is ensuring we capitalise on these facilities and maintaining strong business and apprenticeship engagement.”

She continued: “We have spent the last twelve months establishing an excellent and robust Leadership team that will form the backbone of the business going forward and that includes experienced industry specialists Jason Daniels and Stuart Dallaway, along with Chris Reeves.

“The latter has done a fantastic job as Operations Manager and will now take a more strategic involvement in the development of the In-Comm technical academy in Aldridge and the Marches Centre of Manufacturing and Technology in Bridgnorth and Shrewsbury.

“In total, that’s over 75,000 sq ft of outstanding training space that can cater for up to 2000 apprentices every year and is capable of supporting in excess of 3000 businesses. This capacity is the challenge we are tackling, but it also represents a fantastic opportunity for companies to get involved with us, in order to help them address the skills shortage they are facing.”

Chris, who held roles in logistics, training and recruitment during a 10-year career with the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, joined In-Comm Training in 2014 as an assessor before working his way up to Operations Manager.

He has impressed the senior management team with his ability to manage the day-to-day operations of the three academies, as well as integrating up to 40 new trailblazer apprenticeships, covering anything from machining and metrology to heritage and electronics.

As Operations Director, he will now be tasked with the on-boarding process for new and existing clients, ensuring a well-balanced and focused solution to their skills requirements journey.

Chris went on to add: “This is a great way to celebrate five years at In-Comm and comes at a very exciting stage of our development as a leading provider of vocational training in the UK.

“I’ve always had a passion for personal development and this new role gives me the opportunity to positively influence over 2500 different people every year – and this figure will grow as we increase engagement and open up all areas of our investment.”

Bekki concluded: “Gareth has been with In-Comm for eleven years and has been instrumental in our growth and helping us establish our employer-led approach to training, including securing high-profile projects, such as MCMT and the ECMS’ National Power Press and Tooling Centre.

“I’m really pleased that he’s agreed to remain on the board and continue to contribute to our strategic vision and act as an ambassador for how powerful vocational learning can be for business and industry.”

For further information, please visit www.in-comm.co.uk or follow @incomm_training on twitter.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Russ Cockburn .