West Midlands company PP Business Improvement becomes a Skills Academy approved provider

An industry leading provider of training services, PP Business Improvement (PPBI), has joined forces with the National Skills Academy for Manufacturing (the Skills Academy) to help protect 7,700 manufacturing and engineering jobs in the West Midlands by helping firms benefit from a six-to-one return on their investment in training. Recent research by Semta, the Sector Skills Council for Science, Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies has shown 1,650 engineering companies in the region are at risk of failing because they are not hiring, not training and are not aware of the skills gaps amongst their workforce. To help tackle the problem, Walsall-based PPBI has been approved by the Skills Academy to deliver a range of training courses, including its acclaimed Business Improvement Techniques (B-IT) NVQ programme. Developed by the Skills Academy – which is part of Semta – the B-IT programme has a proven track record of delivering measurable benefits to businesses by equipping staff with the skills they need to identify and implement improvements on the shopfloor. PPBI is a subsidiary of Power Panels Electrical Systems, a manufacturing company that has already won several awards for its commitment to staff development. Thanks to B-IT training it has also tripled its profits, increased turnover four-fold and achieved unprecedented 99.97 per cent quality levels. Explained the company’s Chief Executive, David Fox: “Last year we were delighted to receive a prestigious Skills Development Award from the Skills Academy and we are now able to pass on our expertise through PP Business Improvement. Like the Skills Academy we are passionate about reducing the skills gap and we are look forward to helping many more companies after signing this formal agreement.” As well as delivering the Skills Academy’s B-IT programme, PP Business Improvement will also provide a full range of six sigma training courses. Added Bill Twigg, Development Director at Semta: “We are very pleased to welcome PPBI to our network of approved training providers. It has already demonstrated how it can help manufacturers to boost business performance through effective training and this agreement will give other firms confidence that the training they receive will be effective.” - E N D S –

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