Pictured above: (l-r) Train2Succeed's training manager, Claire Stokes and director Sue Rickwood

Sue Rickwood, director of Droitwich-based,Train2Succeed is outraged by the news that vital Train to Gain funding will no longer be available to smaller training providers.

In the early part of 2009 Train2Succeed received an overall Grade One standard for their inaugural Ofsted inspection, which is ranked as outstanding and set a precedent for a first report.  In 2010 they were awarded Beacon Status by LSIS (Learning & Skills Improvement Services), which put them in the top 5% of training providers for quality.

Train2Succeed provide training to enable candidates to study for NVQs in Health and Social Care Levels 2, 3 and 4. The company delivers a much needed qualification to those in the health care sector, working in areas such as nursing homes, home care and learning disability units throughout Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Gloucestershire. 

There has been much criticism linked to Labour's flagship Train to Gain scheme by the new Government as many have considered it to fail in terms of learning achievement and have questioned the quality of many of the smaller training providers.

Mrs Rickwood is particularly angered by the withdrawal of funding and its negative impact on the health and social care sector, as the company was created from a recognised need for good quality training provision. Train2Succeed offers candidates a fully equipped 'state-of-the-art' learning facility which involved a significant investment. The company's training programmes are delivered by qualified professionals with extensive knowledge of both theoretical and practical skills in the health care sector.

"You hear such horror stories of elderly people falling prey to untrained, unprofessional, unfeeling and unscrupulous carers. The UK has an increasing aging population that need care, so the demand is indisputably there and escalating for well trained and well motivated carers who feel they are valued by society;" says Mrs Rickwood.

However as Train2Succeed has been faced with the distressing task of making redundancies, Mrs Rickwood believes that the issue of withdrawing funding from smaller training providers will have a much wider effect on both the business community and care sector. "As a smaller company the level of compliance and bureaucratic processes we have to adhere to in order to compete with larger organisations is very costly." 

She continued: "We have done everything that has been asked of us. We have Ofsted's endorsement that we are the best at what we do, and now we have been told that certain larger providers that have not necessarily attained the high standard of quality that we have, will be getting funding."

"Surely funding should be given to those providers who have the best results. It seems to me another set-back for smaller businesses that really are the backbone of our local economy and it doesn't just affect training providers. Those who work in the health and social care sector are not highly paid, and the cost of training is therefore prohibitive for both employers and employees."