Highfield Qualifications, a leading UK awarding organisation, is a family-owned, global leader in compliance and work-based learning qualifications, as well as end-point assessment of apprentices. They were recently appointed to develop new learning programmes for the National College for High Speed Rail in Doncaster.
The business, which won the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in 2016 and the Learning Technologies Award for e-learning in 2017, approached Business Doncaster after high growth left them needing to recruit a significant number of new staff quickly.
Their Business Doncaster Key Account Manager referred the company into the Growth Hub Enhancement Project – a stream of support which helps small and medium sized enterprises overcome their growth challenges.
Through the Enhancement Project, Highfield received expert, impartial advice from their Key Account Manager in a range of areas. These ranged from land search and premises to export and finance, and resulted in further referrals to programmes such as the Department for International Trade (DIT) and the Business Investment Fund (BIF).
The business, which boasts contracts with household names such as Marks & Spencer and Elior, also utilised the Enhancement Project Masterclasses to develop staff knowledge on Leadership & Management and ISO9001.
It is hoped that this support can help Highfield Qualifications with the recruitment of 75 new staff over the next year.
Chris Sprenger, Highfield managing director, said, ‘The support from Business Doncaster and the Growth Hub Enhancement Project has been a real help in allowing us to grow our business and position ourselves for a successful 12 months ahead. We are already one of the top five awarding organisations in the UK for qualifications, and we fully expect to become one the major providers for apprenticeship end-point assessment services and resources by 2020’.
The Sheffield City Region Growth Hub Enhancement Project is receiving up to £2.7m of funding from the England European Regional Development Fund as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020. The Department for Communities and Local Government (and in London the intermediate body Greater London Authority) is the Managing Authority for the European Regional Development Fund. Established by the European Union, the European Regional Development Fund helps local areas stimulate their economic development by investing in projects which will support innovation, business, create jobs and local community regenerations. For more information visit https:// www.gov.uk/european-growth-funding