Middleton based training organisation joins elite few

Skills for Logistics, the Sector Skills Council for the freight logistics industries, has announced that Middleton based Manchester Training, one of its Approved Training Organisations (ATO), has joined the elite few to receive an Adult Learning Inspectorate (ALI) Grade One. This grade is only given to training providers that are considered to provide an outstanding quality of training.  In addition, Manchester Training is Skills for Logistics’ first ATO to be given this award.

“The Adult Learning Inspectorate has very specific standards to meet when it comes to the grading of Training Providers and rightly so as companies expect and should receive the best quality training possible for their employees,” commented Chris Fylan, Regional Manager – North West, Skills for Logistics. “This grading recognises an excellent provision of training and the quality of delivery across all industry sectors. It is high praise for Manchester Training and very positive for professional development within the freight logistics industries!” 

Executive Director of Manchester Training, Mark Currie, credits the inspection process itself with a considerable contribution to the company’s success. “The rigorous inspection process helped us to improve our provision over the last 4 years, from ‘unsatisfactory’ in February 2002, through ‘good’ in September 2004 to ‘outstanding’ in October 2005. In 2002 we didn’t really understand quality and inspection helped us to not only understand it, but to reinvent quality measurement and to become leaders in its delivery, using a system we developed called Quality Squares. This now impacts throughout our business and we constantly measure ourselves in all departments, leading to unprecedented achievement. We delivered a more than 90% pass rate in Driving Goods Vehicles Apprenticeships to July 2005 and 11 of 13 entrants to the latest CPC exams passed first time – both considerably higher than the national averages. We are delighted to find that we are becoming an integral part of our customers’ staff development programmes.”

Grading

Inspectors use a four-point scale to summarise their judgements about the quality of provision in occupational/curriculum areas and Jobcentre Plus programmes, as well as to summarise their judgements about the quality of learning sessions. The same scale is used to describe the quality of leadership and management, which includes equality of opportunity and quality assurance. The descriptors for the four grades are:

• Grade 1 - Outstanding
• Grade 2 - Good
• Grade 3 - Satisfactory
• Grade 4 – Inadequate

For further information please visit www.manchestertraining.com or call 0161 653 5767.