Chamber Training

Advice, support and funding for businesses

Coventry & Warwickshire Chamber Training is working in partnership with Tow-Trust Towbars Ltd, a manufacturer of towbars and towing accessories, to provide training solutions to upskill their existing workforce and support the company’s future expansion plans.

As one of the largest providers of training and development in Coventry and Warwickshire, Chamber Training has a strong track record in supporting businesses to design the right training solutions.

Elaine Miller, a Director at Tow-Trust Towbars Ltd says: “We continuously examine ways to develop our team’s skill set and the introduction of small changes can have a big impact on our company’s progression. We recently turned to Coventry & Warwickshire Chamber Training and with their advice and support, we were able to access funding for non-accredited training. This has enabled the management team to adopt a strategy for effective time management training, which has proved extremely beneficial.”

The first member of the team at Tow-Trust to access the funding for non-accredited training courses was Michael Hill, Office Manager. Commenting on the time management training, which was delivered by Rob McDonald from Chamber Training, Mike said: “After the training sessions with Rob, one of the areas I have organised is my emails as these are one of my main points of contact. I constantly struggle to find historical emails and the training has made a huge difference to how I now work. I now also include time limits when compiling a ‘to do list’ to ensure that the work I set myself each day is achievable.

“One of the other main aspects of the training I focus on is when delegating a job, I always ensure to set a time frame. Rob said if you give someone all day to do a job it takes all day if you say I need that back by 1pm, it usually gets done by 1pm. I haven’t yet had a chance to produce my time log however this will be something I will do shortly. Some of the above is common sense, however it is something I wasn’t doing before the training. I have gained practical, real-life results that are certainly helping me in my daily routine.”

Natalie Lane, Account Manager at Chamber Training commented: “We look forward to our continued business partnership with Tow-Trust and the opportunity to provide the team with further, beneficial training. Through Skills4Growth, eligible businesses are able to access 50% ESF funding towards non-accredited courses and accredited courses from our main suite www.cw-chambertraining.co.uk

“We would urge SMEs to get in touch with us to find out if they are eligible for the funding. Our team will work with you to identify your organisation’s training needs and recommend an appropriate solution, with 50% of the costs being met through Skills4Growth.”

To be eligible for Coventry & Warwickshire Skills4Growth, companies must employ a maximum of 249 people operating in sectors including Business & Professional (including accountancy), Health and Social Care, Digital and Creative Industries, IT Services and Retail and based in Coventry & Warwickshire.

To find out more about Chamber Training’s accredited and non-accredited training courses and if your company is eligible for Skills 4 Growth ESF funding, please contact Chamber Training’s Business Development Team on 024 7623 1122 or enquiries@cw-chambertraining.co.uk

Further accountancy apprenticeship success

Coventry & Warwickshire Chamber Training is celebrating another apprenticeship success with accountancy firm, Burgis & Bullock. Cameron Ross has passed his final ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) exams and achieved Chartered Certified accountant status.

Cameron is another Apprenticeship advocate after joining Burgis & Bullock aged 20 with no accountancy experience and embarking on an Apprenticeship through Coventry & Warwickshire Chamber Training. Six years on, he is now based at the firm’s Leamington Spa office as part of the audit and corporate services team.

As the leading provider of apprenticeships and business to business training courses in Coventry & Warwickshire, Chamber Training has a strong track record of supporting businesses to design and deliver a plan of learning that meets their specific requirements. Apprenticeships are designed around the needs of employers and enable businesses to grow their own talent and become more productive.

Commenting on Cameron’s success, Kate King, Partner at Burgis & Bullock, added: “We’re all very pleased for Cameron, he is very dedicated and we know how much work he has put in in order to pass his exams.

“As a firm we place great importance on developing our staff and giving them opportunities to take on responsibility, and Cameron has taken those opportunities with great success and become a key asset to the corporate services team.

“To see a young member of the Team grow from an individual with limited experience to a confident accountant, giving clients great service like Cameron does is fantastic, and is a great example of the firm’s commitment to giving young people opportunities and supporting their development.”

Nicky Cheshire, Account Manager at Chamber Training remarked: “Cameron is another example of how Apprenticeships offer a valuable pathway to rewarding careers. We are delighted to have been able to support him in his training and development and wish him every success in his future career development.

Cameron Ross, Burgis & Bullock

“We are currently working with a wide range of accountancy firms to provide a structured pathway to training and developing qualified accountants. If you are looking to recruit an apprentice or train new staff, we welcome your call to discuss the various options available.”

To further information about Chamber Training’s Apprenticeship Programme, call 024 7623 1122 or enquiries@cw-chambertraining.co.uk

Lauren Elston, Direct Air

At Coventry & Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce Training, we are celebrating Apprenticeship success at Direct Air in Coventry.

Lauren Elston started a Level 2 Business Administration Apprenticeship with Chamber Training in October 2019. She chose the Apprenticeship route as it offered a valuable pathway to a rewarding career. After successfully completing her training, she is now a Customer Service Administrator at Direct Air.

During her Apprenticeship, Lauren worked closely with Christine Cusick, a Training Advisor/Tutor at Chamber Training who was able to offer her the support and guidance she needed to succeed. Throughout her Apprenticeship Lauren has been praised for the way in which she has handled customers and their enquiries. She has also increased her IT knowledge and experience by attending Microsoft Excel training courses and embarked on a telephone techniques course through Chamber Training.

Commenting on her Apprenticeship training, Lauren Elston said: “I have never known what kind of career I wanted to pursue and I have never really had much of a plan. All I knew was I really enjoyed business. The idea was to attend college, study business and see what would come from that. However, I wasn’t looking forward to it. I decided to go for an Apprenticeship and it was the best decision I’ve ever made. It has offered me a real-world experience rather than spending another two years at school. “I chose Chamber Training because they offer some great Apprenticeships, highly skilled employees and a wide range of great courses. Chamber Training has been massively helpful in growing my communication skills and I am so thankful. I have recommended Apprenticeships to many people and I will continue to do so, because I think it is one of the best ways to go after school. I am so proud of what I have achieved at only 17 and I know wouldn’t feel this way if I made the decision to go to college.

“I have a good relationship with my Training Advisor/Tutor Christine Cusick and she is extremely friendly and supportive. Christine was very helpful when I was struggling to get the 20% out-of-office hours towards the end. She sent me multiple resources and helped me understand what kind of learning activities I could add. She has a great

Apprenticeship success for Direct Air

knowledge of business as a whole and I was lucky to also have her support.”

Commenting on her continued development and progression within Direct Air, Emma Dolby, Marketing Manager said: “Direct Air really benefitted from Lauren’s learning programme as it has given us the opportunity to develop an Apprentice in line with our way of working and processes. We work closely with Chamber Training to source the most suitable Apprentices for the business. It really helps us to mould the individual right from the start, and know they are achieving a foundation in general business administration.

“Lauren quickly adapted to working in a business environment and learning new systems and processes. Also recruiting an Apprentice has ensured we have a team member who is hardworking with time-management and the ability to prioritise. The entire team and I have been so impressed by Lauren’s development throughout her Apprenticeship and can’t wait to see her continue to flourish in her permanent role.”

Following the Budget announcements on 3rd March 2021, it is anticipated there will be some exciting apprenticeship incentives for businesses. To discuss how Apprenticeships could benefit your business, contact Coventry & Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce Training’s Business Development Team on 024 7623 1122 or enquiries@cw-chambertraining.co.uk

Training Courses 2021 Chamber Member Price + VAT Non-Member Price + VAT Duration Mar 21 Apr 21 May 21

Appraising People and Performance Understanding Sales Level 2 Accredited Microsoft Excel - Basic to Intermediate Microsoft Excel - Intermediate to Advanced Professional Telephone Techniques Professional Email Techniques £220.00 £245.00 1 Day 24 £300.00 £300.00 1 Day £130.00 £160.00 1 Day £130.00 £160.00 1 Day £110.00 £135.00 Half Day - AM £110.00 £135.00 Half Day - PM 6 14

12 19 19 20, 27 May & 1, 8 June