In the picture: Tony Simmons - Centre Manager for Northolt, Ella Briley - Customer Service Advisor, Caroline Lay - Human Resources Director, Pauline Dickson - Customer Services Manager.

LCL Awards has recently awarded its Inclusivity Charter to Logic4training. Caroline Lay, Logic4training’s HR Director who oversees its 60 staff at centres in Northolt, Basildon, Luton and Sittingbourne, explains the steps Logic4training is taking to improve the diversity of both learners and staff and why she feels the Inclusivity Charter is so important to the business and sector at large: 

 “I think the Inclusivity Charter’s a fantastic initiative. It has really allowed us - as a business and an employer - to take some time to think about how we can encourage a more varied and diverse group of people into learning a trade.

 “Logic4training has always prided itself on being an equal opportunities training provider, but now more than ever we want to help as many people as possible access training and careers in the building services engineering sector.

 “Our sector has traditionally been male dominated and we want to encourage more women into the industry. The charter helps us promote our efforts to make the change. We are focussing attention on the initiative at all levels of the company - and through all departments.

 “For example, our marketing team has taken steps to develop a more diverse approach to promoting the business. We’re now using a better balance of images on our website and marketing materials to show both male and female learners participating in practical training in workshops. This is to encourage more women to attend our centres and learn a skilled trade.

“Another route we’ve taken to encourage more women into the trades involves the learners themselves. We have approached a number of female candidates who have given us permission to follow their training journey and written up their stories to publish online and on our platforms.

"You can read these on the Insights page of our website.

“At our Northolt centre, we have recently employed a new female trainer and assessor. She runs weekend courses, which makes training accessible to people who require a more flexible approach to learning. This could be really beneficial to single parents, or those who can’t afford to stop their current work in order to retrain.

“There are many different reasons why people may be disadvantaged or prevented from learning a new skilled trade and we are taking action to make it easier for all, regardless of their circumstances.

“As well as the new initiative to timetable training at the weekends, we also offer a variety of finance options and provide free morning or afternoon induction sessions, where potential learners can come and talk to our experienced course advisors, tour our training facilities and explore our range of courses.

“Moving forward, we’d like to lead the way in encouraging an industry-wide change in attitudes. We’ve recently been speaking with other businesses in our sector, discussing how we can work together to encourage more people into building services engineering.

 “It’s an exciting time and we’re very optimistic about the future of training – encouraging and helping everyone who wants to take up a career into this rewarding sector make their dreams a reality.”

To find out more about what Logic4training has to offer, click here.

To find out more about LCL Awards' Inclusivity Charter, click here.