1 May 2008

Left to right: Janet Dalton, Head of Personnel and Jacqui De-Rose, Chief Executive of Progress Housing Group holding the Skills Pledge.

Progress Housing Group are the latest organisation to commit to a Government initiative to tackle the skills gap.

Progress Housing Group joins over 60 of the North West's leading employers who have demonstrated their commitment to the long-term employability of their staff and future success of their business by signing up to the Government's Skills Pledge.

Launched last year, the Skills Pledge is a voluntary, public commitment by business leaders to support all their employees to develop their basic skills and gain a minimum Level 2 qualification.

Progress Housing Group employs over 300 staff at its three Leyland offices and 38 staff at housing schemes based in Preston, Chorley and Lincolnshire.

Speaking following the launch event, Jacqui De-Rose, Chief Executive of Progress Housing Group, said: 'Ensuring staff are supported and encouraged to access learning and training opportunities is vital to preserve long-term employability; it is also key to the future success of any organisation.'

'As an Investor in People, we have always supported lifelong learning and the professional development of our staff. Last year, we invested over £100,000 in training and development. By signing up to the Skills Pledge, we can further demonstrate our commitment to helping staff benefit from gaining relevant and valuable qualifications.'

The organisation is now working with Preston College to expand on their current training programme and offer staff the opportunity to study NVQs in areas such as Customer Service, Business Administration and Cleaning & Support Services. Staff can also sign up for the ITQ (Information Technology Qualification).

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