Why workforce development matters to the people we work with

Learning at Work Week is a national event led by the Campaign for Learning, in which thousands of organisations across the UK take part each year. This year's theme is 'Many Ways to Learn'. For CLEAN, it is a prompt to make visible something that shapes the quality of service we provide every day: a consistent commitment to developing the people who deliver it.

The connection between workforce development and service quality is not abstract. When a driver holds a current HGV qualification, when a team leader has completed structured management training, when a colleague understands the technical and compliance requirements of a specialist role, that knowledge shows up in the work. It translates into reliability, consistency, and the kind of operational confidence that customers and partners depend on.

CLEAN operates across a wide range of sites and service environments. The nature of that work means development cannot take a single form. It has to fit around shift patterns, operational pressures, and the varied demands of different roles. Structured apprenticeships funded external qualifications, practical on-the-job training, and digital learning all play a part. So does the less visible work of mentoring, peer support, and the kind of everyday knowledge-sharing that keeps standards high.

Three dimensions of learning

The Campaign for Learning has framed this year's theme around three connected ideas. Each one reflects something CLEAN actively invests in.

Learn to Learn

Building the confidence and self-awareness to develop through everyday experience. This is the foundation: colleagues who ask questions, seek feedback, and are willing to grow through doing. It is the kind of disposition that sustains quality in roles where conditions change, and decisions have to be made without a manual to hand.

Learn for Life

Development that supports people beyond the immediate scope of their role. Language skills, leadership and management capability, and practical workplace training all contribute to a more capable and more stable workforce. For partners and customers, this translates into lower turnover, more experienced teams, and greater service continuity.

Learn for Work

Structured learning that builds the specific skills needed for today's responsibilities and future progression. Over the past five years, CLEAN has supported colleagues through qualifications at every level, from introductory training through to Level 5 apprenticeships. That investment is ongoing and reflected in the experience and competence of the teams working across our sites.

What that investment looks like in practice

Two recent examples show how different the path to development can be, and what it produces when the right support is in place.

Freddie Carney | HGV Driver, Slough

HGV BOOTCAMP, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PDT FLEET TRAINING

Freddie Carney recently qualified as an HGV driver, completing the HGV Bootcamp, a structured programme delivered through a partnership between CLEAN and PDT Fleet Training, supported by local government funding at several CLEAN sites.

The programme runs for approximately six months. It combines theory, practical training, and formal assessment, all documented in a personal workbook, and it asks a genuine commitment from anyone working through it. The route to qualification is structured but demanding, with stages that require both persistence and aptitude.

Freddie was supported throughout by Becca Fishpool and Mike Jordan from PDT Fleet Training, the Slough transport team, and CLEAN's Learning and Development Manager. That continuity of support, alongside Freddie's own determination to complete the programme, was central to the outcome.

Freddie says, “I’m really proud to have passed my HGV test. It took hard work and determination, and I’m grateful I stuck with it. A big thank you to Nicola and Peter Cox for their support, guidance, and for giving me the chance to prove myself. I also really appreciate how welcoming and supportive Slough CLEAN has been throughout. Finally, a heartfelt thank you to my family for their constant support; it means everything to me. This is a big step forward for me, and I’m excited for what’s next.”

The result is a qualified driver with a thorough, structured grounding in his role. That is the kind of foundation that makes a practical difference to how a transport operation functions.

Angus Mitchell | Marketing Campaigns Manager

LEVEL 3 MULTI-CHANNEL MARKETING APPRENTICESHIP, DISTINCTION

Angus Mitchell joined CLEAN in 2019 and moved into the marketing team in 2022. When he expressed an interest in further developing his skills, a conversation with his manager led to something more substantial than a short course: a Level 3 Multi-Channel Marketing apprenticeship, supported by government funding, running alongside his full-time role.

The apprenticeship was built around applied, real-world work. Its centrepiece was a campaign that Angus developed from scratch for CLEAN's new Nottingham site, combining direct mail and LinkedIn advertising to generate new business leads. He handled every part of the process himself, from initial research and planning through to delivery and evaluation.

He completed the programme with a Distinction and now works as Marketing Campaigns Manager, applying the skills and frameworks he developed directly in his day-to-day work. He described the experience as:

Angus Mitchell, Marketing Campaigns Manager

Angus's progression is an example of what becomes possible when an expressed interest in development is met with the right structure and the space to see it through. The campaign he produced during his apprenticeship was not an exercise. It was real work, with real outcomes, for a business that needed it.

A dependable commitment, not a one-off initiative

The cases above are two examples from a much broader picture. Across CLEAN's sites and service areas, colleagues are developing their skills from the incremental to the substantial. The business does not treat learning as a separate function or a periodic event. It is woven into how roles are structured, how people are supported, and how performance is sustained over time.

For customers and partners, this matters for a straightforward reason: a consistently developed workforce is one that can be relied upon. That reliability, built through effort and consistency rather than claimed through aspiration, is what CLEAN aims to bring to every service it delivers.

Learning at Work Week 2026 is an occasion to recognise that. The theme this year is 'Many Ways to Learn'. At CLEAN, that has always been true.