About Us

Alphabet Training are nationally approved apprenticeship and training provider delivering bespoke and accredited courses to client groups across England.

Based in the North West of England, we deliver projects that:

• Help employers to find new staff and upskill their workforces
• Help entrepreneurs to grow their businesses
• Enhance individuals’ employability and work-readiness
• Help people to build skills and advance their careers

Those four categories encompass a broad range of provision. That range can include anything from helping people to develop basic life skills and self-confidence, right through to providing business-owners with leadership and management coaching, or tailored learning programmes for whole teams of employees.

We deliver programmes focusing on employability, apprenticeships, work placements, business start-up, process improvement, IT skills, social inclusion and more. We work across all sectors, and with a variety of funding bodies, serving both SME and VCFS employers.

Our over-arching goal is to become a leading provider of choice for apprenticeships, work and community-based learning for employers and learners.

Since our launch, we have delivered numerous training and employability programmes. Here, we have listed just a few of them.

Current Projects

• Apprenticeship Programme - An apprenticeship, which must last for a minimum of 12 months, combines hands-on work with the opportunity to train and obtain qualifications. It’s also a paid position, so you earn while you learn. At least 20% of your time is set aside for learning, usually at a college, university or training provider. Alphabet Training primarily focuses on delivering apprenticeship programmes in the education, pharmacy, professional services and the retail sectors. We have supported 600 apprentices to date.

• Adult Education Budget - A government-funded programme that can be accessed by employers and individuals to fund a huge range of training. It's a great resource for employers to upskill their workforce and support staff with their career progression. Alphabet Training have supported over 1,000 learners with 2,000 plus qualifications.

• ‍Support to Succeed (STS) – Bolton, Bury, Rochdale,Manchester and Trafford - The Programme provides support for economically inactive Greater Manchester residents who are furthest away from the labour market whoface complex barriers to work. The service includes basic skills, ESOL,digital, health, finance, enrichment and peer support.  The programme alsoincludes a specialist offer for residents aged over 50. We offer a range of interventions to address engagementbarriers and provide emotional, physical and educational support through themes such as ‘education and employment’, ‘health and wellbeing’, ‘social engagement and befriending’ and ‘environmental resilience’. We’ll engage economically and socially disadvantaged GM residents to lift their aspirations and improve their employability e.g.working on CVs and covering letters, interview practice, arranging workplacements and delivering workshops that build communication and teamworking skills.

• Multiply - Helps people improve their ability to understand and usemaths in daily life, home, and work. Whether that be improving householdfinances, helping children with homework, making more sense of the facts in themedia, or improving numeracy skills specific to a line of work. To achievethat, Multiply offers a range of options such as free personal tutoring,digital training and flexible courses that fit around people’s lives and aretailored to specific needs or circumstances.

• ESOL - ESOL is being delivered in Liverpool and Lancashire for DWP and Local Authorities. This project delivers ESOL with soft skills for integration into society and progression into employment for those aged 19+ (will also include approved refugees and Asylum seekers status clients). Focus will be placed on the class-based element of this programme. Both accredited and non-accredited ESOL courses are offered (pre-entry to Level 2). This will cover reading, writing, speaking, listening, ICT and transferable skills. Poor English language proficiency impacts significantly on local residents who are more likely to be socially excluded, economically inactive or unemployed and suffer from poor mental wellbeing.

• Skills Bootcamps - These are flexible training courses for adults aged 19 and over. They last up to 10 weeks and offer participants a job interview on completion. You can use this scheme to hire new staff or upskill existing staff. There are hundreds of courses in a range of sectors, including: digital skills, such as digital marketing, health & social care, early years. For more information visit https://www.alphabet-training.co.uk/programme/skills-bootcamps

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‍Previous Projects (examples)

• ‍KickStart - Launched by the government in 2020-2021 to deliver funding for employers offering new job roles for 16-24 years olds who are currently in receipt of Universal Credit. The programme aimed at preventing young people who are currently unemployed facing long term unemployment. Alphabet Training helped secure placements for over 250 individuals.

• EnterprisingYou - Launched in 2020-2022, this programme was designed to support self-employed individuals, including those who work in the gig economy and small business owners in Greater Manchester. Alphabet Training supported 700 employers and delivered over 1,200 coaching sessions.

• Skills Support for Redundancy - A support scheme funded by the European Social Fund (ESF). It is aimed at employers who are undergoing restructures or closures who have employees at risk of redundancy, or individuals who have been made redundant within the last three months.

• Skills Support for the Unemployed (SSU) - A programme for the unemployed aimed to upskill and fast track you towards a positive progression into employment or further training.

• Good Things Foundation - The grant supported people who often don’t receive support or fall through the gaps. Used to build confidence, help teach new skills, and supporting people to achieve positive employment outcomes.

• JETS (Job-Entry Targeted Support) - This programme was designed to help people to find work who have been unemployed and in receipt of benefits for at least 13 weeks.

• ‍Skills Support for the Workforce (SSW) - Helping to support small & medium-sized businesses to upskill their employees with training courses & qualifications to grow their business and boost the local economy.

• Skills for Growth - Designed to upskill and re-skill employed people across the city-region, which will put them in a better position to progress in their careers while supporting businesses to grow. Courses include digital and social media courses for both employers and employees.

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At Alphabet Training, we don’t operate all on our own. We have ties with hundreds of other organisations across the country. They include:

• Businesses
• Colleges and other training agencies
• Councils
• Charities and social enterprises
• Community and faith-based groups
• Awarding bodies
• Associates – experts in various fields

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They are all important, for varying reasons.

Open to Sub-Contracting

Alphabet Training is looking to be a leading provider of Adult Education Budget within Greater Manchester Combined Authority. We're looking for potential partners who can provide quality education and cost-effectiveness. We particularly welcome applications from providers who already deliver in these areas, have qualifications and employer relationships in priority sectors, and have robust delivery models. If you're interested in joining our supply chain, please contact Shabir Siddiq at shabir@alphabet-training.co.uk with any questions or for more information.

Businesses & the Private Sector

We work with over 400 small and medium sized businesses in the North West alone; companies that we help with workforce training, recruitment and coaching for their owners or senior managers. In return, many of them engage with us on employability programmes, providing work experience placements, giving talks or taking part on mock interviews to give candidate valuable practice. They also give us a valuable insight into the demands of local labour markets, so we can tailor or training support to meet real needs and give people the best possible chances of securing lasting employment.

The Public Sector

Local councils and organisations such as JobCentre Plus are amongst some of our most important clients because they fund and manage a range of employability programmes. Colleges, too, are important to us because we may refer our learners to them for follow-on courses, or colleges may refer people to us. It’s a two-way process that maximise the support that we can direct to the people we support.

Third Sector Organisations

The third sector – that is to say voluntary, community and faith-based organisations – also work with us in mutually beneficial ways. They are often employers in their own right and they share many of the same goals as us in terms of improving people’s life chances. They may partner with us on projects to provide venues or added expertise, or simply to help us engage more effectively with people at a local community level.

Awarding Bodies

We offer a range of accredited courses, so it’s important that we work well with the awarding bodies who develop them. Ongoing reporting and assessments help to ensure that we continue to deliver training to the highest standards, and the backing of these bodies ensures that people gain qualifications that are recognised and in tune with the needs of modern employers.

Associates

Many of our trainers are in-house staff but where additional expertise is required, we are fortunate to be able to call upon a host of technical experts. These associates cover a broad range of sectors and disciplines, and they undergo their own continuous professional development through their respective professional institutes.