Grey Matter Learning

Employee appointment  ·  Grey Matter Learning  ·  The Progress Group
Grey Matter Learning appoint new Managing Director

Grey Matter Learning, a leading social care training provider, has recently appointed Phil Hitchcox as its new Managing Director. The appointment will see Phil lead the organisation’s strategic development.

Phil, who joined the business in 2022, has ambitions to make Grey Matter Learning (GML) the social care training provider of choice across the UK. Before this role, Phil spent some time working for one of the largest social care companies, CareTech Group, where he supported attracting and developing a 12,000 strong workforce in over 600 care settings.

Phil joins the business with a wealth of experience across the education sector, with almost 13 years’ experience under his belt. During this time, his varying roles mostly centred around supporting employers to develop their workforces through work-based learning and apprenticeships.

In the early stages of his career, Phil spent some time working for the Education & Skills Funding Agency (ESFA), where he helped large employers to implement and develop apprenticeship programmes to develop the skills of their people.

Talking about his appointment, Phil said;

“I am thrilled to be joining GML at such a pivotal moment for the business. GML offers the social care industry something truly unique, inspiring and impactful. The learning that they provide makes a real difference in the industry.

“My ambition is to help more care organisations benefit from the learning GML can offer – as well as enhance the experience and value we offer existing customers.”

Phil went on to discuss how he also plans to develop the current learning programmes further and explore how those programmes can be delivered. Currently, GML’s course delivery is prominently online, with some face-to-face courses available.

“GML immediately stood out as an impressive and purposeful business, that makes a difference in people’s lives every day. Above all else, it has a really strong team of people who not only understand social care and what our customers want, they are passionate about the care industry and making a real difference.” Phil said.

Speaking on Phil’s appointment, The Progress Group CEO, Jayne Worthington said;

“As a Group, we are committed to fostering a leadership team that can deliver on our vision and mission statement to change lives through the power of education and training. Phil’s experience coupled with his passion for championing change makes him the perfect fit for our business.

“Since GML joined the Group 12-months ago, we have seen some transformative changes across the business, as we bolstered operations to support even more care providers with their training needs.

“The social care sector landscape is rapidly changing as providers begin to navigate a new normal in a post-COVID-19 world. But the importance of education and training for social care professionals remains unchanged. Phil’s appointment will see GML drive forward and support even more providers to deliver high-quality, effective training to their care staff.”

Grey Matter Learning is part of a larger group of training and education specialists – The Progress Group. Throughout the UK, The Progress Group’s subsidiaries use high-quality training and education opportunities to drive forward social mobility. Across the group, services are available to individuals aged 11 to 60.

The Progress Group (TPG), has announced The Standing Tall Foundation as its nominated charity of the year.
CareersInc  ·  Charitable Giving  ·  Complete Training Solutions  ·  Corporate Social Responsibility  ·  Giving back  ·  Grey Matter Learning  ·  Innovative Alliance  ·  Prepare to Achieve  ·  Progress Schools  ·  The Progress Group
The Progress Group names The Standing Tall Foundation as its charity of the year

Leading education and training specialists, The Progress Group (TPG), has announced The Standing Tall Foundation as its nominated charity of the year. The news will see the two organisations bring together their combined knowledge to work simultaneously to drive forward social mobility across the UK.

It is no surprise that the Foundation was named TPG’s charity of the year. Both organisations work to provide education, training and support to individuals of all ages, helping them to secure positive outcomes whilst having a long-term impact on their lives.

The Standing Tall Foundation was founded in 2020, with a clear aim of supporting the health and wellbeing of individuals of all ages and backgrounds by giving them to access things such as educational programmes, mental health services, and drug and alcohol abuse rehabilitation support. The Foundation also works closely with ex-military personnel, supporting them to reintegrate back in to communities after serving in the armed forces.

The partnership has already got off to a storming success, with Complete Training Solution’s recently offering a number of sponsored placements for ex-military on one of their newest courses, Basic Safety Training, helping them to re-skill in order to peruse an alternative career after leaving the military.

Speaking on the partnership, The Progress Group’s CEO, Jayne Worthington, said;

‘’I am thrilled that The Standing Tall Foundation was voted as our charity of the year! At The Progress Group, we are committed to delivering on our promise to drive forward social mobility and provide individuals with a high-quality training and education, a mission shared by the Foundation.’

‘’We are always looking for new ways to build strong partnerships in the communities where we operate, just like the Foundation. Our shared values and commitment to raising aspirations and helping individuals to overcome barriers will undoubtedly help us have a positive impact on the lives of countless individuals over the coming year and beyond.’

‘’I am looking forward to working closely with the Foundation in the coming months to see how we can support each other and achieve our mission together.’’

John Tabern, CEO of The Standing Tall Foundation said:

“To use, forging long-term relationships with organisations such as The Progress Group are priceless, as for us to be able to achieve our vision, we need to work collaboratively with like minded organisations to share best practice and help connect our users to the services and support the need, either directly via the Foundation or via third parties.

“That’s one reason why we are so excited to be name as The Progress Group’s charity of the year, as their approach to this partnership goes beyond fundraising or donations to also include opportunities to share knowledge, skills and connections, for the benefits of our users and you can’t put a price on that.”

The Progress Group is a group of specialist education and training providers, supporting individuals from the age of 11 to 65. Made up of two divisions, the Group subsidiaries serve a wealth of industries from Renewable Energy to Health and Social Care to Alternative Education. As a collective, the Group has supported thousands of individuals to access high-quality and effective education and training that has helped them progress into positive destinations.

The Progress Group acquires multiple award-winning learntech provider, Grey Matter Learning
Business Growth  ·  eLearning  ·  Grey Matter Learning  ·  The Progress Group
The Progress Group acquires multiple award-winning learntech provider, Grey Matter Learning

National education and training specialists, The Progress Group, have recently acquired the multiple award-winning learntech provider, Grey Matter Learning. The provider, who is dedicated to the health and social care industry, is a leading eLearning provider, having recently been named “2021’s Most Outstanding eLearning Provider of the Year for Social Care Services in the United Kingdom” by CEO Monthly Magazine and “Leading Provider of Social Care eLearning 2020” by the Southern Enterprise Awards.

Grey Matter Learning is the latest addition to The Progress Group, which already includes five education and training providers. Collectively, the group works with individuals aged 8 – 60 across their national alternative education provision, careers education, advice and guidance, and adult skills training. Their skills training spans several sectors including renewable energy, construction, health, and social care, and warehousing and storage.

The addition of Grey Matter Learning will not only further enhance the existing delivery of the Group, but also help to further drive the company’s digital learning capabilities.

Talking of the acquisition, Group CEO Jayne Worthington said;

“We are delighted to welcome Grey Matter Learning and its team to The Progress Group. Grey Matter Learning is very well established as a provider of eLearning across the UK, and I am really looking forward to not only growing this business nationally, but also deploying some of its best practice and eLearning expertise across our Group. This will significantly enhance our existing eLearning provision, ultimately helping us to help more people.

“Similar to us, Grey Matter has a mission to improve lives through learning, and place people at the heart of their provision. This ethos and approach were the perfect fit for our Group, which has a clear purpose, to change lives through the power of education. When we first met the team at Grey Matter Learning, I instantly knew that they would be a brilliant fit for our Group, and that they would really bring another element of expertise to our existing provision.”

Sarah Knapp, Grey Matter Learning Managing Director and founder said;

“Everyone at Grey Matter Learning is hugely excited by the opportunities that working with The Progress Group will bring for the team, our clients and partners. Whilst we remain firmly committed to the social care sector, we have already been working on successful projects in other sectors. From an L&D background, it has always been my passion to create interesting and fun eLearning that holds the attention of the learner whilst inspiring desired results. It can be pretty challenging when dealing with such difficult subjects, particularly during such tough times.

Since launching our upgraded system, Click, a year ago, we have had incredible feedback and won 2 major awards. People simply love our content. I often wonder how many eLearning providers can confidently say that their learners are excited by the courses and are having fun competing with colleagues because they are enjoying their learning experiences. Just this week one of our local authority L&D Managers said: “The Click content was so rich and engaging that I changed my work plans in order to complete the course”. It is so heart-warming to know we are making a difference and I believe this new partnership can only bring greater innovation and more lives improved through learning.”

Grey Matter Learning, which was formed in 2006 and provides class-leading social care eLearning, the Care Certificate and Skills for Care mandatory training courses. They work with multiple local authorities, many of whom have been customers for 14 years as well as social care providers. This includes AgeUK, Dimensions, Autism Together, Bluebird Care, Mencap, Camphill Village Trust, Milestones Trust, and the Guinness Partnership. Their eLearning platform, Click, has been shown to significantly boost a company’s productivity, providing £30 worth of increased productivity for every £1 invested in online training. It’s this impressive impact which has seen the company flourish over the last 14 years.

To find out more about The Progress Group, visit their website.