Published
By Toby Belshaw
One of numerous attractive facets of a career with the CPL Group is a pro-active approach to learning and development, providing its people with education and opportunities alike.
The Group has established and maintained a strong, proven ‘grow your own’ ethos and is persistently eager to back its staff each step on their professional development pathways.
Offering colleagues time, support and options to plot their best foot forward, our words are robustly backed by our actions, including the access to a generous personal training budget.
Investing in employees above and beyond salaries, this priceless funding lets members of the CPL Group team acquire door-opening qualifications and accrue new skills in their job.
As a result, recruits can unlock potential and grow in their role, making any CPL Group career as much of a journey as a destination and one where staff can steer their course.
An employer of specialist procurement staff based across the United Kingdom, the Group has supported a host of them through their CIPS (Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply) qualifications, with further funded exams ongoing in 2023.
Approaching the completion of his six-level CIPS programme, Senior Procurement Officer Miles Woodman revealed how the CPL Group “supported me with my CIPS qualifications and the challenges you encounter whilst working a full-time job and studying at the same time”, adding “the Group are proud to see their staff attain their MCIPS (Member of the CIPS) status and celebrate when people reach this milestone”.
However, development opportunities are far from limited to those within procurement, with the Group also able to initiate training across a range of broader fields, including Finance, Compliance, Software & IT, Sales & Marketing and Leadership & Management.
Among our further initiatives, staff have been able to train as Mental Health First Aiders to provide potentially invaluable help, advice and direction to colleagues, with applicable learning and development resources accessible via the company’s growing intranet.
From soft skills to specialisms, the CPL Group can serve as a facilitator of personal and professional growth, with paid study leave one of the various accessible staff benefits.
Existing in the education sphere, it is only right that the CPL Group places an emphasis on education and, whether inspiring our team via EDI-based history, informing the 1,000+ CPC members of a beneficial upcoming webinar or directing visitors to CPL Learning and its bank of online resources, our learning mentality extends to and beyond those who work for us.
In 2023, the Group has scheduled Procurement Advisory Group (PAG) and Further Education Facilities Management Network (FEFMN) groups around the UK and online, enabling the pooling and sharing of knowledge and empowering self-education, in turn.
Meanwhile, multiple staff have advanced to senior Procurement Manager titles for 2023, backed by the safety net of learning and development help the Group continues to offer.
Furthermore, a hat-trick of employees recently made the shortlist for the 2023 Made in Manchester Awards, with the CPL Group having acted as their advocates in nomination.
Managing Director, Darren Lowe commented: “The CPL Group work environment is set for ambitious individuals to develop themselves in a rewarding career. We heavily invest in the principles of training for all and work hard to develop a culture in which you’re empowered to do the best job possible. I’m delighted we can help support our people”.
Certified as a Great Place to Work, a recent consultation employees saw an overwhelming 97% say they had been offered learning and development opportunities at the CPL Group.
From 1 August 2022 to 31 July 2023, the Group has invested circa £40,000 in learning and development, with more than 1,500 hours of Continuing Professional Development (CPD).
Want to learn and develop with us? Discover our latest roles at cpl.group/vacancies