Member Article

National training provider growing team after successful 2020

A leading national training provider based in the Midlands is set to build on virtual development with some very real growth in 2021.

Coventry-based PET-Xi is to expand its team across the UK with eight new senior roles, after a successful 2020 despite the disruption caused by the pandemic.

The firm works with adults and young people in schools to teach them key skills to help them find quality work and fulfil their potential.

But over the last year, PET-Xi has had to adapt massively to the challenges posed by the coronavirus crisis.

It moved much of its training work online by developing its own virtual learning environment, with features that allowed for better interactions between trainers and trainees than were available on standard platforms.

PET-Xi loaned out more than 750 laptops to leaners who were not able to access the virtual learning environment from their homes.

It meant that more than 400 adult learners found work after completing PET-Xi’s courses, and more than 1,000 young people took part in NEET (not in employment, education or training) programmes.

PET-Xi’s support in training people during the pandemic also saw it awarded a UK Business Heroes Stamp after being nominated by the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce.

Its commitment to quality online learning has seen the firm finish 2020 in a stronger position that initially expected and it is now adding to its team to reflect that success. Simon Fitzgerald, Head of Funding at PET-Xi, said: “Like many other businesses, the pandemic forced us to find new ways of doing things in order to keep going.

“A year ago, we were planning on improving our online capabilities to give our trainees more options when it came to accessing our courses.

“This ended up being a crucial decision when the country went into lockdown and the pandemic caused all sorts of problems for our trainees.

“Thanks to our specialist virtual learning environment, we have been able to deliver our courses to trainees remotely without compromising on the quality of our teaching. “With further demand for our services because of the upheaval caused by COVID-19, it was especially important that we were able to find a way to help as many people as we could.

“Because we were able to use our online platform successfully, we are now in a position to strengthen what we have at PET-Xi by creating eight new jobs to help bolster our company.

“Receiving the UK Business Heroes Stamp was a lovely surprise too – it’s really nice to be recognised like that after such a tough year.

“We’re very proud of our success in 2020 and we hope to continue to help as many people as we can get the skills they need to get back into work as we head into 2021.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Matt Joyce .