Matrix award shows how Progress to Excellence Ltd “goes the extra mile”

STAFF at Progress to Excellence Ltd “go the extra mile” for learners and employers – and that’s official.

The company has once again been awarded the prestigious Matrix Standard for the quality of its support and advice in helping learners with their careers, work and life goals.

After his rigorous inspection, Matrix assessor David Crosby said evidence had been provided of a “friendly, welcoming and professional service” that goes the extra mile to provide learners, employers and stakeholders with the opportunity to explore their specific needs and identify barriers that prevent progress.

He said: “All the staff live and breathe the organisational values as demonstrated during the assessment.

“The approach to learner and employer engagement and support provides a platform of excellence which enables staff to deliver the best possible service while, in return, gaining the trust and respect of the learners, employers and partners they are supporting.”

This is the fourth successful Matrix accreditation for the business which is currently working nationally with around 4,250 learners and 1,100 employers in the delivery of more than 90 qualifications.

Mr Crosby described the culture at Progress to Excellence Ltd as one which stretched and challenged staff, helping to foster and nurture continuous quality improvement as the company strives for excellence and, in turn, “grows its own” future leaders.

There was, he said, clear evidence of strategic commitment and support from senior staff regarding the importance of delivery of the government’s Information, Advice and Guidance (IAG) strategy. This was particularly apparent from the interviews with leaders and staff, which referred to the IAG service as the “key part” of the learner journey/experience.

In addition, all leaders detailed how investment in resources had been made to ensure the sustainability and development of the IAG service going forward. Examples were investment in technology and resources and specialised additional learner support roles.

Mr Crosby added that the service provided by Progress to Excellence Ltd had a robust and systematic approach to gathering and evaluating learner outcomes, survey feedback, service results and using action planning and priority setting in its quality assurance cycle, all aligned to the service aims, objectives and targets. Closely monitoring the key performance indicators had enabled the organisation to monitor learner outcome trends year on year.

The Matrix report highlighted that, since its last assessment, Progress to Excellence Ltd had grown significantly across England and a major staffing restructure had taken place. 

Now operating on a regional basis with its North, South and Central areas each headed by a National Training Manager, this move, the report said, had led to an improved focus on operations and performance and a resultant improvement in the consistency of the delivery and support for learners and employers.

Damian Burdin, Chief Executive at Progress to Excellence Ltd, said:

“This re-accreditation of the Matrix Standard confirms that the interests and wellbeing of all our learners and employers is at the heart of everything we do. 

“Going the extra mile is embedded in our culture. The assessment highlighted the trust and respect for us from our learners, employers and partners; this is something beyond price as we pride ourselves on achievement and excellence, as displayed by our other accreditations such as Investors in People (IIP) Gold status and by being registered as Disability Confident and being an Autism Champion.

“Our learners are either training or being up-skilled for their job roles so our continual support and advice is paramount for their success in their chosen careers and in achieving their life goals.”