Bolton based Outcomes First Group, the UK’s leading specialist provider of education, is celebrating being officially named as one of the UK’s Best Workplaces for Development™ 2024 by Great Place To Work®, the global authority on workplace culture. The brand new UK’s Best Workplaces for Development List recognises companies making employee development a key part of company culture.

Chief Executive Officer, David Leatherbarrow, thanked his 5,000+ team for their great work supporting neurodivergent pupils to access a great education that caters to their specific needs, abilities and aspirations. Commenting on the listing he said, “We are committed to investing in employee development. Our focus is to inspire and motivate colleagues to advance their careers within the group. Professional development is crucial as it can lead to exciting career opportunities whilst allowing colleagues to refine existing skills and learn new ones.”

The listed workplaces offer employees the chance to better themselves, to learn new skills, and to progress within the organisation. By being included in the List, Outcomes First Group have demonstrated they understand that development is not one-size fits all, and they actively support every single employee to undertake their own tailored journey of growth. Because of this, their people are fuelled by a sense of purpose, feel valued by their employer, and give their best to the organisation.

“Employee training and development isn’t just about teaching employees to do their jobs. It’s about showing employees they are valued and that there is a path of progression available. When employees don’t see opportunity, they don’t bring their best selves to work and productivity and retention will be adversely impacted,” said Benedict Gautrey, Managing Director of Great Place To Work® UK.

“Employee development is future-focused and evidences a commitment to employee’s long-term growth. It ensures your people feel valued, and feeds into the overall company culture and strategy. Each year, we recognise organisations whose thriving workplace cultures are enabling both their people and their business to flourish. Opportunities for learning and development are a crucial element of this success, which is why we’re so thrilled to be recognising this year, for the very first time, the UK’s Best Workplaces for Development.

“Congratulations to Outcomes First Group for being part of our 2024 UK’s Best Workplaces for Development List.”

To compile the UK’s Best Workplaces for Development List, Great Place To Work® reviewed each company’s culture, benefits, approach to leadership and development, alongside anonymous responses from employees. These data insights are then used to benchmark each company’s employee value proposition against the culture employees actually experience. Only the businesses who achieve the highest scores after evaluation receive Best Workplaces™ status.