The Progress Group named a Sunday Times Best Place to Work for the third year running

Liverpool-headquartered education and training specialists The Progress Group have been named one of The Sunday Times Best Places to Work 2026, achieving this coveted national recognition for an extraordinary third consecutive year.

The Sunday Times Best Places to Work, in partnership with leading employee experience platform WorkL, celebrates the UK’s top employers across every sector and size. This year’s list features 567 organisations recognised for their exceptional standards of employee engagement, workplace culture, and overall colleague experience.

For The Progress Group, three consecutive years on this list represents far more than a hat-trick of awards. It reflects the Group’s enduring, whole-hearted commitment to putting colleagues first, a philosophy that sits at the very core of everything it does.

Jayne Worthington, Group CEO of The Progress Group, said:

“To be recognised for the third-year running is something we are immensely proud of, but what makes this so meaningful is that this award belongs entirely to our colleagues. It is their voices, their honesty, and their feedback that have put us on this list, and I could not be more grateful. At The Progress Group, we have always believed that to truly change lives through education and training, we must first invest wholeheartedly in the people who make that change happen. This recognition tells us we are on the right path, and we have absolutely no intention of stopping here.”

The Progress Group, which includes subsidiary brands Progress Schools, Progress Careers, Progress Arc and Flourish, has continued to deepen its investment in colleague wellbeing and professional development in the past year. Building on initiatives celebrated in previous years, including the Summer Friday Flex scheme, Menopause Cafes, group-wide Mental Health Awareness activities, and an average investment of £3,500 per colleague in training and development, the Group continues to introduce new ways to support, reward, and retain its 200+ strong team.

The Sunday Times Best Places to Work list is compiled using data from the WorkL employee survey, which measures six key elements of workplace happiness. Being named for a third successive year demonstrates consistent, sustained excellence, not a one-off performance.

Zoe Thomas, editor of The Sunday Times Best Places to Work, said: “In an evolving world of work Britain’s leading employers are helping staff forge careers that count today – and in the future. In turn, the Best Places to Work have the resilience to weather the current economic storms baked in, thanks to engaged workers who go above and beyond with a smile.”

Lord Mark Price, founder of WorkL, said: ” I am delighted that more companies than ever entered this year’s Best Places to Work awards and more have been given winner’s medals.  The scores are higher than last year showing a greater focus being put on how employees feel. All our research at WorkL clearly shows that happier workforces drive better commercial performance.”