Our People

Our people are flexible, hard working and passionate about what they do.  We have a no-nonsense, get it done attitude which meets all of the requirements of funders but gets the job done in as simple a way as possible, as fast as possible. Individuals have lots of freedom as long as they are demonstrably doing a great job and gaining the respect of their colleagues and reports.

We give our leaders and their teams the opportunity to shape the working practices and future strategy of the business.  We have no time for ill thought through and undeliverable strategies.  Lots of interesting things come our way and we like to exploit them if we can.  We have lots of very talented managers and they work most effectively and cooperatively with leaders who inspire them; leaders they can respect and leaders who are sharp and assertive enough not to be spun a tale.

To pursue a senior management career here you need to be committed to value for money and making money to re-invest in learners and customers. Our senior managers are driven to develop the business and deliver high quality and innovation whilst promoting stability in the areas of the business that need it. We are also a data driven business and expect our managers to be aware of data in their areas and what it is telling them about performance and the interventions they would need to make.

We have a strong performance management culture aimed at improving individuals, businesses and the group as a whole.  We have robust and mature relationships with funders and sponsors.

We are very thorough in how we approach change.  For example when we merged with Skelmersdale we planned the integration in great detail and made it happen in a few months.  But we did not produce a document called, “Integration of Skelmersdale and Newcastle”.  This was because there would have been no readership for it.  A senior manager was responsible for the integration, worked with 20+ people and just made it happen in a non-bureaucratic, timely and appropriate manner. Each manager delivered the goods in their area and was accountable through normal structures for getting it done. 

You will love it here if you are:

• hardworking
• driven to succeed
• love our business and our learners and customers
• can command respect at all levels
• demonstrably know your stuff
• are bright, have ideas and can innovate
• enjoy working as part of a vibrant team
• relish leading people
• are not threatened by talented people
• willing to work as hard as it takes to get the job done
• like variety and challenge – even the intimidating kind

Our successful leaders love it here. They know that the freedom and opportunities for personal and professional growth are unmatched in the sector. It is great fun; there is pace and energy and passion at all levels.