JHP Group Founder is Awarded an OBE in Queen's Birthday Honours

Hugh Pitman, founder and former Executive Chairman of JHP Group Limited, is to be awarded an OBE for services to Vocational Training, as announced in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List 2010. Hugh Pitman founded JHP Group in 1983 to deliver government funded training to help individuals develop their skills and improve their employment prospects. As Executive Chairman and Chief Executive, Hugh built JHP Group to become a national provider of training programmes – supporting over 12,000 individuals a year to learn new skills and achieve vocational qualifications. Hugh continued to head the company from January 2008 as Chairman. Under his direction and leadership, JHP Group continued to drive vocational learning opportunities and extended its services to helping unemployed individuals overcome their barriers to secure meaningful employment. JHP Group actively seeks to provide career progression and lifelong learning for all and to date has helped over 350,000 individuals and worked in partnership with over 30,000 employers. Hugh has made a major contribution to wider vocational education and work-based learning policy. This began over 10 years ago when, as an already well known national figure in the sector, he brought together nine other senior colleagues and set up a high level representative group, which his colleagues duly invited him to chair. This group developed into the Association of Learning Providers (ALP), which subsequently merged with the National Training Federation to form the influential and well respected ‘trade association’ which is today widely consulted by politicians, policy makers and the senior executives of delivery agencies across the UK. Hugh Pitman comments to Jim Chambers, Chief Executive Officer of JHP Group Limited: “My family and I are completely overjoyed that I have received the appointment of OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List. This note is to thank you personally and, most importantly, to ask you to pass on to all your magnificent staff throughout the United Kingdom that this OBE – while in my name – is for all of them; in recognition of the high regard in which JHP Group is held. The ethos of the Company, and the fact that you all champion the needs of the learners – and their vocational education and progression and development within work-based learning – over and above purely commercial considerations, is well-known within our industry and the main reason why so many very high-calibre people wish to join the Company and make their long-term career as members of JHP Group. Please pass on my warmest congratulations to everyone”. Jim Chambers adds his congratulations: “I was delighted to be amongst the first to offer my personal congratulations to Hugh on the news being announced and I am pleased to do so again here. I first met Hugh in October 2007 and was subsequently delighted to accept his invitation to join JHP Group as Chief Executive in January 2008. Together with our colleagues, we set about building upon the excellent foundations, reputation and credibility of JHP Group which led to the expansion of our vocational training interests and to a rapid expansion of our Employability services. The core ethos and strong sense of public service that Hugh drove from day 1 remain at the very heart of the culture of JHP Group. On behalf of the directors and staff of JHP Group I heartily congratulate Hugh on this well deserved recognition and we are very proud of our heritage as a company.”