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ONE YEAR ON

MARCH 2020

We started lockdown faced with a very bleak situation... We had just come out of 2019 which was financially and operationally the toughest year in our entire 26 year history on account of the Government funding changes. The lockdown led to the cancellation of £1.1 million worth of school bookings. Our company figures showed losses of almost £500,000. We no longer had any credit facility with the bank and we couldn’t get an overdraft. Our back was firmly to the wall. On Sunday before lockdown, an emergency meeting was called where the senior team and advisors searched for ways to avoid seemingly imminent financial disaster in which only one way seemed possible and that was the closure of PET-Xi with the redundancy of all staff. We made the decision that we were going to make it work and protect all staff and be there for the learners..

We just needed to find a way to make it work! 17th March 2020 So proud of our trainers, experts & teachers out in schools & community centres across the UK every single day as well as covering for staff who are self isolating or ill. We are so proud of all staff, but right now you lot are on the front line doing an awesome job!

Fleur x x x

MARCH 2020

March

Lockdown, cancellations, no cash, no way to deliver training. Stop outgoings, Bring in cash, Support learners any way we can....Go remote! Time was horribly against us. We had no cash as everything had come to a halt and everywhere was closed so there was no way to bring any money in. Lockdown began on March 23rd and by March 24th furlough had been announced all staff apart from a tiny, core crisis team were put onto furlough in order to protect all jobs. We had enough cash to keep the company going for 3 weeks and our plan was simple … to extend this as long as possible. Remote delivery was the path through it … we jumped into the PET-Xi Interactive and tried to sell this to everyone. At the same time, we cancelled every payment down to the photocopier and we took mortgage and payment breaks on everything to stretch out the time we could keep going. We applied for every loan available and were rejected every time. No CIBLS, no contracts and some of our contracts were cancelled such as the college contracts due to the contract terms which stated that all training had to be face to face. We negotiated pre-payments wherever possible on contracts we were working on, and this extended the time we could keep going by days (not weeks). We trawled though every contact we had and had conversations with absolutely everyone who would talk to us and by the end of March we had received some good news in the shape of our first remote contract … this was £10,000 from City of Culture 2021 as part of the incredible commitment partners felt, and had vocalised at all levels, towards PET-Xi on account of the value we offer to community building and the need for us during these darkest of times when we reach into areas where often nobody else is willing to go. The first ever zoom meeting took place on March 31st and we had the first official Customer Services online learning course was delivered by Karen Hill and Ruth Lowbridge. Karen wanted to continue delivering her course and decided to do it which she did, from her daughter’s garage with the kit

MARCH 2020 she had available and it was a great success! This opened up the chance of running the funded courses remotely but first we had to persuade our funders to allow us to do it despite the contracts stating that we had to deliver on site. The colleges refused and said only face to face courses were allowed and we lost a significant amount of funding and it looked like this would be the case with all other contracts, but WMCA was up for discussing remote training and we worked hard to persuade others to follow their lead. We were back in the game operationally but we had only £10,000 and a target to hit of £300,000 every single month to break even, protect jobs and keep the business running. Schools were closed and it was impossible to get in touch with them. We were chasing down every payment and deposit possible with finance teams where we were owed money. Some were not available and others couldn’t pay. We were developing marketing materials and new products and programmes on the go despite this and putting in hours round the clock to bring it to life – anything that anyone asked about, we offered and developed … We were also bidding hard with bids going in to the DWP, City councils, WMCA and Skills 4 Growth. Meanwhile we were stress testing the platforms from a safeguarding perspective, learner welfare is paramount and many of the platforms we tried were not able to meet our rigorous standards to ensure we could deliver the Xi mission to ours and our partner standards. This was hard and time consuming.

24th March 2020 The Show goes on! New business methods for these new & challenging times! Karen is at home but using our online system she is still keeping the NEETS learners engaged and learning through PET-Xi Live delivering Health and Social Care.

29th March 2020 Looking forward to us all being back with our learners as soon as it’s safe for them & us. Meanwhile, stay at home, look after yourselves & keep smiling! Fleur X.

MARCH 2020

APRIL 2020

April

Financial freefall... Finance Department in crisis. Deliver at pace...Bring in cash. Find new products needed by our learners! Our Head of Finance left which was a deep blow. Despite working around the clock, the company, as almost every other company in the UK, was financially in free fall yet we needed very tight c ontrol of the finances as every pound mattered to keep the company safe and we needed to wrestle control back. At the same time we were delighted to see the return of David Hutchinson who was happy to take on the immense challenge of running the Finance Department and we met and hired the s ervices of Taylor Purkis, the financial director who was brought in to help us build a way back to financial stability despite the toughest conditions and to gain fast control of the cash starvation which was leading to ever spiralling finances. We were up for the challenge and were giving it everything we had. We had to keep investing despite the lack of cash, and we started planning the PET-Xi International offer as this gave us the chance to look at markets other than the UK one which by this point was in total freefall across all sectors. We translated all adverts into 6 languages and we started working with the Chamber and with the DIT to get this moving. We also continued trying everything we could to sell the “Online Interactive” based on the success we had with getting our first contract.

6th April 2020 We delivered first Mental health workshop for City of Culture and we put free courses on for the most vulnerable students who could not access learning during lockdown.

APRIL 2020 Meanwhile other businesses were failing daily and the atmosphere was frantic. Debenhams and many others were going into administration and banks and lenders were very nervous. Acquiring funds was actually impossible and we had no safety net and cash was very tight. We were putting pressure on everyone we could to bring in cash and acquire funds but we had no luck. We applied for numerous loans and were rejected for all of them, despite record years of p erformance in the previous 3 years (excluding 2019). It was going to be a very tough road we knew. We were hopeful of an insurance pay out on account of the £1,100,000 we lost through cancellations but were rejected as we were in the same position as many other businesses, i.e. every illness was covered by our policy, except COVID. This is still the case now (March 2021) and we have been told that there is no chance and this will not change despite seeking a legal c hallenge. We started using Microsoft Teams for the first time and the SLT (Senior Leadership Team) was formed and we met daily (and still do). We delivered our first Online Customer Services delivered remotely with the Migrant centre using a translator. On the same day the first ITQ course delivered remotely and we also delivered virtually to our first schools – Tamworth Enterprise College and Wombourne. A week later on 27th April 2020 our First Team leading course delivered remotely. I was having phone calls from partners and competitors asking how we were doing it! Things started to look up with a win of the DWP ESF Coventry & Warwickshire contract working with NEETS and notification of Routes 2 DWP Contract win. This was followed soon after with WMCA AEB Contract Win, WMCA City of culture Contract – Notification of Contract Win (and we submitted the Final Growth Case to Skills Training UK for NEETS.

8th April 2020 Matt has this week completed the PET-Xi Level 2 Customer Services programme via our Interactive, remote learning platform. “The course was online due to the current circumstances, but we were able to engage with other learners on the course and the trainers. I gained confidence in this as the course went on. I gained skills in being able to deal with customers problems at work.” Matt - Level 2 Customer Service Course

APRIL 2020

MAY 2020

May

Furlough extended.

The Vault, Contract wins, PET-Xi Live is a hit with learners. “This is a marathon not a sprint and there are some nasty hill climbs ahead.” Martin Reeves, CEO Coventry Council

As we ramped up for the new online delivery, all safeguarding had to be restructured and hundreds of laptops acquired (and loaned out) and cleaned and wiped and the whole situation had to become COVID secure. We had to work with partners to make sure that all our systems were acceptable to them and different partners wanted different standards and set ups. We were looking at booths and ways of making COVID secure delivery when we were allowed back into the office, but no date was set. All we knew is that when it was announced, we had to be ready for it. Furlough was extended until the end of October and we saw a moment of reprieve as the finances balanced for the first time since lockdown began despite Financial projections being declared by LEPs nationally that the country was seeing the worst financial situation since the year 1701. Our remote offer was being used by other providers as a master stroke of genius and a way to keep training. Digital Learning wrote an article on us and it was used by other providers as a way to battle ahead. We saw tough times ahead and knew that we had to stay strong in the OFSTED world so we advertised for Head of Skills and made the investment into the future which we could now see, but it was going to be a tough road to make it happen. 4th May 2020 our first course delivered on the Vault and a week later on 11th May 2020 the first Health and Social course delivered remotely. This was working well and people were getting success with 26th May 2020 seeing our 100th Adult learner achieved a level 2 qualification. It was getting busier on 28th May 2020 we supported 150 young people in Stoke & Staffs schools to gain a level 2 qualification via Positive Directions during May alone.

MAY 2020 For learners who had been participating in GCSE Statistics programmes, we assisted their schools with centre assessed grade decisions, as the Summer GCSEs had been cancelled. More good news followed with a DWP ESF Greater Birmingham & Solihull win, ESFA Non Devolved AEB Notification of Contract Win. We spent a long time working on the PET-Xi Live VLE D evelopment and implementation as well as on updating the feel and look of old pet-xi.co.uk requiring coding changes and page updates.

12th May 2020 Thank you to all the learners who took part in excellent courses today. We’re really flying with the remote courses. Very good news announced by the Chancellor today about the extension to furlough. We’re currently sifting through all the detail and I will be sending out an update to all staff tomorrow when we have clarity on how it affects us and our learners moving forward. The very last pics the day of lockdown... Looking forward to sending the new pics when the new PET-Xi world is launched but for now, know we are keeping the PET-Xi spirit burning bright! All good. Take care, Fleur X

JUNE 2020

June

Financial turnaround! Great scrutiny across the industry, Huge pressure to perform, Year end turnaround, New programmes,Power up. and contract wins. From losses of £750,000 in 2019, after significant effort and commitment, we finished the financial year (June 30th) with a small profit of £60,000 which showed that despite the pandemic and the loss of our entire “busy period” and all schools work, we had wrestled control and fought back to make an £800,000 turnaround from our worst year which ended in June 2019. This was a wonderful achievement, but it wasn’t the time to celebrate as we weren’t out of the woods yet and nobody knew a timeline or what the future looked like. Jess Hicks took over social media to keep the messages positive and to keep us at the forefront of everyone’s minds. Meanwhile we set up a COVID safe office set up ready for when a return was possible so there would be no delay. A number of our partners who subcontract to us were also under great pressure and were putting us under extreme scrutiny and the demands on us were severe both in terms of delivery and also financials. The progressions (i.e. jobs for learners) were incredible difficult to achieve and the teams were working miracles to make it happen and using all contact and networks to support this work. Training was going well with 1st June 2020 the first Employability programme was delivered remotely and that same day we launched Positive Futures+.

JUNE 2020

By the end of the month on 23rd June 2020 Ellie Wickett had delivered our first online dance class. The Government had started talking about the need for summer schools, catch up and a potential tsunami of demand for tutors. This was soon followed up with an announcement of funding into the one to one tuition for those who had fallen behind, particularly the most vulnerable in the hardest to help areas. Recruitment kicked into gear and we started getting involved in the agenda and c onversations to make sure that PET-Xi was top of everyone’s minds. We continued to work with key partners and we got Norfolk Virtual to review our remote teaching one to one and start working with us on it. The ‘power up’ delivery model was created and first delivered, to mimic the classroom experience of a team of staff with a larger group of students, with delivery staff trained accordingly. Meanwhile we continued to try to crack the very tough nut and get into businesses to upskill their staff which is another key area of the community rebuild and economic uplift which will get the UK out of the recession following the pandemic. We heard from Skills for Growth that we had another contract Win as well as confirmation of Contract Win Growth Case for Skills Training UK. This was followed up by Peopleplus Skills Support for the Unemployed Cheshire & Warrington Contract Win and the PET-Xi Live VLE went live making delivery better quality and smarter.

JULY 2020

July

Recovery. By 29th July our 500th NEET Learner achieved a level 2 qualification and we continued to push hard for remote learning with schools and spent great efforts with our campaign for remote transition. We were constantly reviewing where we were and what we had to do to maintain stability. Meanwhile we had won 6 new growth cases and bids continued to be submitted at an incredible rate. First remote delivery of combination of VLE and ‘go to webinar’ for the L3 maths rail apprenticeship. Assessments were submitted and graded via the VLE, with no requirement for using the more cumbersome ‘go to webinar’ handout approach for files. This approach was also used for positive futures programmes. ESCAPE delivery was also adapted to enable running in a covid secure environment.

AUGUST 2020

August

Growth. By 6th August our 500th Adult learner achieved a level 2 qualification and we finally won COVID CIBLS loans to support our cashflow moving forward. Contract Annual reviews and due diligence was taking place with Serco and Ixion and we were pushing hard for growth as well as revising d elivery plans and negotiating with all partners on account of the totally changed landscape. The combination of the VLE and delivery platform was used further to deliver the new ‘Coventry City of Culture course’ and well as Sheffield Traineeships. GCSE English materials were broken down and re-worked to fit a modular remote delivery approach, and vocational materials were collated in order to undertake further review for remote delivery.

29th August 2020 After a lovely weekend in Wales with the family, we returned to this beautiful message from my MD to Amber. It’s safe to say that I have one of the nicest bosses on earth... Thanks Fleur Sexton x

31st August 2020 Then this came through the door today... Now I’m a mess lol! The MD wrote me a personal card thanking me and a cheeky takeaway voucher in there. Thank you, it is a pleasure working for you. This is why I love my job xxx

SEPTEMBER 2020

September

Second wave threatens stability. We braced ourselves for the second wave and the unavoidable second lockdown, so once again we had issues with partners who needed to conserve funding and were unable to continue to subcontract to us. We pushed ahead with new courses which all required additional materials to be written and additional staff training and on 1st September our first SAGE programme were delivered remotely and by 29th September 2020 our first AVA programme delivered fully remote. We were going further in our conversations with partners and this month we started a dialogue with NACRO to access some tutoring and partnership with them to help the most vulnerable young people in society. There was a great deal of interest in the work we were doing with NEETs and the impact we were having with the hardest to reach, succeeding where others could not. This was featured in a number of articles and magazines. We started marketing NTP to schools ‘just in case’ we were successful and the interest was massive. We just needed to win the contract so we pushed ahead as though we had won, as we had no time to lose. In anticipation for an increased demand for tuition programmes, additional time was spent developing ‘progress check’ materials for English and maths. Continual review and amendment of vocational was still occurring, with ‘L2 Team Leading’ and ‘L2 Health and Social Care’ slides getting an update, and also the creation of ‘CPD modules’ and ‘Job Club’ employability modules. We also ran a series of creative campaigns to open dialogue around school closures and teachers self-isolating PET-Xi are here to help and started a detailed key contacts stakeholder mapping exercise in order to make sure that we were in dialogue with everyone we possibly knew. We put in final submissions to Cumbria through the DWP, and to the National tutoring Programme and to Kickstart for PET-Xi to be an intermediary organisation

22nd September 2020

Tough times bring out definite PET-Xi traits. PET-Xi people are always optimistic, resilient & big hearted & I can see that shining more than ever in the whole team right now. More of our wonderful learners than ever before are now signed up to our programmes and are loving it. Have a great week & thank you for all you do!

OCTOBER 2020

October

Community rebuild. West Midlands Metropolitan Mayor Andy Street visited us at the Hagaard Community Centre to see how PET-Xi have adapted to the pandemic. We had the final ESF DWP Greater Birmingham & Solihull Inspection Completed & the contract went LIVE. This was followed up by a submission of ESFA Traineeship Tender and the international VLE design and implementation went live. These were exhausting times and we were having to deliver new concepts and courses faster than ever before. Following on from positive futures feedback, further development of the maths and English modules occurred, with a stronger focus on application to real life scenarios, and a subsequent re-branding to ‘key skills for life’.

OCTOBER 2020 The curriculum writing tracker was updated, to enable the creation tracking of multiple tuition programmes by group, alongside the adaptation and creation of 15+ content menus to enable a high level of bespoke content request for each group. Curriculum and Training dept worked together to create a tutor training and assessment course on the VLE, so all new tutors would have access to guidance, materials exemplars and could complete an assessment of understanding prior to commencing their delivery. This month also saw an update to the L2 Customer Service material. We were moving forward at pace with the internationalisation agenda, there were many hurdles and we were meeting with potential agents and start the ball rolling with progression discussions at the same time carrying out all the legal and due diligence work. PET-Xi International College was launched with a new website and all internationally set up in terms of finance and cultural presentation and by 12th October our 1000th Adult learner achieved a level 2 qualification.

NOVEMBER 2020

November

Partnership growth.

Royal recognition for community work. We started running qualifications for staff on furlough to keep everyone going and keep everything positive. WMCA launched the start of Kickstart and used the PET-Xi offices to get the message out. Furlough was extended until March and we were back in lockdown. The 25 year ball was announced for July 2021 to keep everyone focused on the positive outcome which was now within reach. West Midlands Metropolitan Mayor was isolating due to COVID so he sent his deputy Bob Sleigh to Head office to launch Kickstart which brought about a number of press and media interviews.

NOVEMBER 2020 We received Royal Recognition with the Business Heroes stamp on account of the work we had done during the pandemic to support communities.

NOVEMBER 2020 Training was continuing to deliver new products and on 4th November 2020 our first ‘conflict management’ course was delivered using remote invigilation. This month also saw the first running of the ‘Time Management’ programme. On-site programmes were now able to be quickly switched to online delivery at short notice. We received notification from DWP ESF Cumbria that we had won the contract for £1.3m. We put in a submission of NACRO 16-18 Tender for Catch up provision and non-devolved AEB Submission with a Southern partner who wants to develop their work in the West Midlands. We also put in a submission of DWP CAEHRES Expression of Interest Documents to Adeco, Seetec, Peopleplus, Twin, Growth Company, Jobs 22, Learning Curve, Reed, Tchc, Serco, G4s.

DECEMBER 2020

December

Lockdown and more cancellations! We were in lockdown again and schools were starting to talk to us about catch up funding and how for many, we were their first choice. We were delighted to win the National Tutoring Programme Contract Win (£563k) as well as the NACRO Contract Win for 16-18 catch up provision (£30k). These are both heavyweight projects and the trust put by the Government and NACRO in PET-Xi was really overwhelming as this is a key part of the UK recovery programme and we are considered key stakeholders in delivering turnaround and community rebuild. The new tuition menus were now able to be used for centres to select bespoke programmes for their groups. We launched Career- fit as part of the upskilling and progression work as well as the PET-Xi International Website Shopping Cart Development and work began in loading Courses to International Website including L3 to L7 courses.

3rd December 2020 Our Trainers are getting into the festive spirit…look at those smiles! More learners than ever before are now signed up to our programmes and are loving it. If you are interested in any of our FREE ONLINE COURSES get in touch with Ruth today. Email redwards@pet-xi.co.uk or call 07387 412952

DECEMBER 2020

8th December 2020 On Friday night we had the pleasure of taking our learners who have recently completed the Coventry UK City of Culture 2021 programme to Coventry Glides. The iconic Cathedral Ruins have been transformed into a winter wonderland and looked spectacular in what has to be one of the most magical ice-skating rinks in the UK. It was great to see our learners who have worked so hard on the programme being able to join together and enjoy this experience!

10th December 2020 It was our pleasure to donate £300 to The Evolve Trust yesterday to help support vulnerable families with the distribution of food hampers and Christmas activity packs for children of those families who are struggling to make ends meet this Christmas. As we continue to live with the challenges of lockdown and as we countdown to a very different Christmas this year, our thoughts lie with families who are struggling through these difficult times. “The Evolve Trust shares the same passion and values as PET-Xi and plays an active role in their community, acknowledging that schools are a central part of the community and that we are all accountable to the communities we serve.” Steve Smith - Business Development Manager

DECEMBER 2020

14th December 2020 At the start of October, we decided to show our support and back the End Child Food Poverty campaign by donating £5.00 for every learner who took part in our Coventry UK City of Culture 2021 Course during October. 60 learners accessed and completed elements of the course, so we donated £300 to Coventry Food Bank - The Trussell Trust. We have always supported The Trussell Trust over the years so it was a pleasure to be invited down again to have a tour and present the cheque which will go towards helping our local community!

15th December 2020 Some great photos from Fleur’s meeting today with Mayor of the West Midlands Andy Street and Ian David Harrabin – Chairman of Historic Coventry Trust. The Trust is developing historic sites across the city to make exciting spaces for young people and Mayor of the West Midlands Andy Street is funding the project. “As a trustee of HCT it’s great to be involved in looking at the latest projects and developments that will rejuvenate the city for the young p eople of Coventry and visitors for Coventry 2021 Culture City.” Fleur Sexton DL

DECEMBER 2020

23rd December 2020

Our community support doesn’t just stop with the PET-Xi Foundation, there are so many other initiatives that we take part in to help build a stronger, better community in which we work and to make a difference where it’s needed!

Commitment to the Community

AWARDED A UK BUSINESS HEROES STAMP!

AWARDED TO BUSINESSES WHO HAVE GONE THE EXTRA MILE TO SUPPORT DURING THE CORONA VIRUS OUTBREAK PET-XI SELECTED AS A TUITION PARTNER FOR

OVER 1300 YOUNG PEOPLE

ENGAGED ON OUR RISK OF NEET OR NEET PROGRAMMES WITH;

450 SECURING A PLACE IN EDUCATION 7 INTO FULL TIME EMPLOYMENT AND 9 INTO TRAINEESHIPS!

tHE NatiONal tUtORiNg PROgRaMME (NtP)

CHARITABLE DONATI NS

Trussell Trust..............................................£300 The Evolve Trust...................................£300

OVER 430 ADULT LEARNERS

SECURED NEW JOBS KICKSTART SCHEME AFTER COMPLETING OUR COURSES

DElivERiNg ON 25 FUNDED CONtRaCtS

aCROSS tHE COUNtRY, HElPiNg lEaRNERS iN PRiORitY aREaS

BUSINESS PARTNER

MAKING SURE THAT NO YOUNG PERSON GETS LEFT BEHIND

3300 LAPTOPS

SUPPLIED AND DELIVERED TO LEARNERS ACROSS THE COUNTRY

TO ALLOW THEM TO TAKE PART IN OUR ONLINE COURSES

SINCE JULY PET-XI LIVE - VIRTUAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT HAS SUPPORTED

2087 LEARNERS WITH 399,606 LEARNER ACTIVITIES 73,543 POSTS & SUBMISSIONS, LEARNERS LOGGED IN OVER 724 TIMES PER WEEK WITH OVER 70 PROGRAMMES BEING DELIVERED!

£12,000 RAISED FOR THE PET-Xi FOUNDATION TO HELP VULNERABLE YOUNG PEOPLE IN DISTRESS

JANUARY 2021

January

Lockdown - growth nationally despite this. Still in lockdown, schools were closed and once again the possibility of no busy period threatened. Courses were once again cancelled and we had to just accept this blow and the losses that would come as a result of the lack of work as well as the investment we had put in which would result in nothing. Meanwhile we had won significant contracts with the NTP tutoring for students across the UK who were vulnerable and who had fallen behind. Also NACRO, for young people who were coming out of the criminal justice system and who needed our help. This is what we’re best at and we got to work straight away and began recruiting new staff to deal with this new demand. This work was of great interest to the media and a number of interviews took place with the work being highlighted on Sky, Radio 5, Radio 4 and local radios. Meanwhile the insurance review saw our challenge denied once again despite our legal challenge.

National training provider launch es recruitment drive as growth continu

JANUARY 2021 Training was continuing at pace with a range of new products and on 25th January the first Warehousing programme was delivered remotely and both NTP and NACRO began at pace with recruitment working long hours to ensure we had enough staff to cover the commitments we had. As part of the NACRO contract, a number of taster sessions were held to give centre staff o pportunity to see an example of delivery as well as ask any questions. Work then began on creating and delivering programmes for 14 centres and over 40 individual groups of students.

This month also saw an update to the L2 Employability material. We heard from Peopleplus Greater Manchester Adult Education of a Contract Win and we put in a final submission of Adult Education Sheffield Tender. Career- fit campaign design was well under way and we began negotiation with CWLEP to offer this for the unemployed. We were working hard setting up payment systems and processes for International College and this month saw its official launch as well as ATHE Awarding Body Accreditation.

JANUARY 2021

3rd January 2021 COVID UPDATE ahead of the 3pm Government announcement. We are ready. We are providing emergency remote staffing and remote tutoring as contingency to schools across the UK. We are offering full service for adults and jobseekers. We will also be working on site with vulnerable and at risk children. We can also offer digital resources, back up and support as required. PET-Xi staff are here for all who need us across the UK. No panic. It’s all under control. Just get in touch!

JANUARY 2021

6th January 2021 Great to hear Fleur on Free Radio this morning talking about digital poverty and breaking barriers to help communities’ level up during lockdown. During the last lockdown we supplied and delivered over 700 laptops to learners across the country to allow them to take part in our online FREE courses and we are ready and prepared to do it again!

12th January 2021 Are you #unemployed and looking for #support and the #skills to get back into work, or need advice on what to do next? Ruth is available to take your call!

14th January 2021 Fleur has been interviewed on Sky and Birmingham TV today talking about work experience and the role of businesses to support this. The series of interviews are being recorded with The University of Warwick on engagement and barrier breaking. Plus, PET-Xi is working with the university on placements of students this year.

FEBRUARY 2021

February

Building back better. The final ESF DWP Cumbria Inspection was completed and the contract went LIVE as well as us getting to the point already of needing additional funding on NTP so we put in a growth Case for National Tutoring. This was at the same time as the submission of final DWP CAEHRS Financial Templates to 6 PRIME providers and collation of evidence for National AEB Tender due in March. We heard that we had a successful Kickstart application for 3 x Placements. NTP and private tuition programme bookings were now coming in thick and fast, but the tracking systems developed were ensuring that the information provided was able to be recorded, reviewed and programmes created at an increased rate through further use of file templates and document creation strategies.

1st February 2021 PET-Xi Training Ltd RE-ACCREDITED TO THE MATRIX STANDARD! #training #accreditation #standards #hardworkpaysoff

FEBRUARY 2021

February 2021 We spotted the Xi in you… Welcome to all our new starters, Jawant Mann, Mollie Lakey, Harry Craker, Nicole Sinclair, Asleigh Gordon, Lyndsay Frizzell, Taherah Hussain and Angela Clark. I’m sure you will join us in wishing them a warm welcome as they settle into their new roles!

FEBRUARY 2021

4th February 2021 Are you currently employed by Arcadia or Debenhams or been made redundant and are unsure what steps to take next? PET-Xi ARE HERE FOR YOU! We can offer you the opportunity to access FREE, ACCREDITED TRAINING to help you reskill and get you on the path to a new career or upskill your existing skills, and offer you support and guidance into finding employment.

12th February 2021 McCulloch Rail Apprenticeships with PET-Xi! PET-Xi and McCulloch Rail are excited to announce further growth in their Apprenticeship partnership. Starting in 2018 with a small cohort of learners, McCulloch is now looking to recruit their fourth intake to start early April, based in Doncaster.

26th February 2021 Very exciting day planning a great redecoration for the post lockdown opening of our popular Nuneaton Hub ready for our lovely learners when they want to drop in!!

MARCH 2021

5th March 2021 We spotted the Xi in you… Welcome to all our new starters, Curtis Wynter, Jasdev Hunjan and Nicola James. I’m sure you will join us in wishing them a warm welcome as they settle into their new roles!

4th March 2021 Lovely day on site with our projects we’re working on with HCT as legacy projects for 2021, making beautiful places for the community & volunteering and music opportunities, especially for young people!

23rd March 2021 Great interview with the passionate, determined & energetic West Midlands Mayor, Andy Street as we emerge from the pandemic and get to work with “restless determination” to sort out the underlying social inequalities which COVID has highlighted. I’m also looking forward to working with the Liberal Democrats, Labour Party and Green Party of the coming months!

MARCH 2021

March

Financial security. 1st March 2021 - 1,000th NEET learner engaged. We are in talks with a partner about a crucial project for the development of 15-29 Entrepreneurship Programme to help in the rebuild but better programme as we start to emerge from lockdown. We are financially secure. We have taken on an additional 12 new roles during lockdown and we will, as promised, come out of this together and continue our work to build communities and help people to better lives through education and employment.

Thank you all for the part you have played, whether in work, or being patient on furlough so we could protect us all. There is nobody else we would rather have been through this pandemic with. PET-Xi kept it together while the world was falling apart and we are here now, stronger than ever before, fighting hard for our learners to be able to progress and rebuild their lives.

Fleur xxx

Fi n a ll y b a ck on si te !

MARCH 2021

AIN’T NOTHING BETTER, WE BEAT THE ODDS TOGETHER!

The world is a wheel. When we rise or fall, we do it together.

PET-Xi Training, Unit 4, Westwood House, Westwood Business Park, Coventry, CV4 8HS