Training specialist unveils new post-lockdown learning method

@PHXTraining A leading north west training provider has unveiled its plans for how people will complete skills training after the lockdown.

Briony Fawcett, managing director of PHX Training, which has training centres across Lancashire and Cumbria, says most providers will now move to a method of ‘blended learning’ to help people complete qualifications.

Blended learning involves a combination of face-to-face learning and remote training, which requires learners to hold regular check-ups with a work coach before spending the rest of the week completing work at home in their own time.

Following the government’s lockdown in March, PHX Training has been delivering its courses in Maths and English remotely, after successfully receiving a £25,000 grant from Ufi VocTech Trust.

With PHX Training reviewing all centres with a view to reopening in the near future, Briony says that a mixture of personal tuition and remote learning will now be the safest route forward for all learning and training in the short term.

She said: “Learning and skills training are still as important as ever and we will continue to help people upskill to secure themselves a new job or a promotion, but it will be in a different format to the old normal.

“The old system of people coming into town centre offices to learn as a group just isn’t feasible at the moment, while almost everybody has improved their technical skills to carry out video calls and webinars online.

“For most education providers, from skills trainers to school and universities, blended learning is going to become the new normal for at least six months. That means learners can visit the centres for a catch-up and be set work online to complete at a time that is most convenient to them.

“Not only does this method make it safer for staff and learners, but it allows people to carry out their learning at the time that is best for them, meaning that they can continue to upskill around working in a job, or in the evenings after the children have gone to bed.”

PHX Training delivers government-backed initiatives, adult skills, NEET (not in education, employment or training), employability contracts, apprenticeships and work-based learning programmes.

The company specialises in apprenticeship qualifications in business administration skills, offering learners skills for roles such as office executive, office supervisor, membership administrator and personal administrator. Apprenticeships delivered by PHX also include team leading, customer service, hospitality, management and warehousing across the North West.

The PHX team of qualified trainers also offers a diverse range of resources including offline, online and face-to-face services at six training centres in Barrow, Carlisle, Workington, Morecambe, Preston and Blackpool.