Skills for the Future Award 2025
Category criteria
- This category will recognise businesses committed to the ongoing training, professional development and upskilling of their workforce.
- This can be via in-house training or external training providers and/or colleges or universities.
Training and Business Solutions Ltd
Skills For The Future entrant
Founded by Steve Rushton, Stoke-on-Trent based Training and Business Solutions Ltd is supporting hundreds of local people and businesses.
Entrepreneur Steve launched Training and Business Solutions in late 2022 using his extensive background in business development and training
His aims were to help companies provide jobs and training and to support businesses to work in partnership, engendering growth.
During 2024 the training arm supported more than 386 organisations in the public, private and third sectors, with 162 of them taking up apprenticeship opportunities or training workforce.
In addition, 246 young people aged 16 to 21 and more than 70 adults were supported by Steve.
Training and Business Solutions offers more than 50 different apprenticeships in sectors such as business services, social media, building and development, IT, finance, transport and logistics.
Steve is an official Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Apprenticeships Ambassador and to raise awareness of apprenticeship opportunities he worked with 10 schools over the calendar year and delivered his own apprenticeship workshops on Sundays at Abbey Hulton Sports and Social Club and Bentilee Wellbeing Centre in partnership with Councillor Sarah-Jane Colclough.
In late 2024 Steve launched the Training and Business Solutions Ltd Trusted Partners scheme by signing partnership agreements with 21 companies. Initial forecasts estimate this will generate more than £300,000 for business partners in 2025-26.
In the first quarter of 2025 the Trusted Partners scheme generated 104 referrals, generating income for companies across a wide range of business sectors.
With many of Steve’s trusted partners based in Staffordshire this ensures money remains in the local economy. This is important to Steve, who was appointed as a Staffordshire Chamber of Commerce Ambassador in the past year.
Aged 55, Steve has spent almost 30 years working in business development and training. Prior to founding his own business in November 2022 He was Director of Partnerships at training provider Achieve Training for more than 12 years.
He said: “Supporting people into work is a passion and I have built up a wealth of knowledge over many years so I wanted to carry on and use that knowledge to support Staffordshire companies and provide pathways into work for local residents.”
Turnover at Training and Business Solutions has increased year on year, from £79,000 in 2024 to a projected £240,000 in 2025.
Steve Rushton has entered the Entrepreneur of the Year category of University of Staffordshire Business Awards and has entered Training and Business Solutions Ltd into the Skills For The Future and Small Business of the Year categories.
Mission Aviation Fellowship
Skills For The Future entrant
From airlifting people bitten by snakes to delivering vaccines to remote parts of the globe, many aircrew who dedicate their lives to humanitarian aid have their training organised from University of Staffordshire’s Stafford Business Village.
Mission Aviation Fellowship, which has around 130 aircraft in some of the most remote parts of the world, coordinates its technical training from Staffordshire.
It is from here that Peter Fryatt, the organisation’s technical training manager, plans the training that leads to people being sent out on missions to places such as Kenya, Uganda, Liberia and Guinea.
A Christian charity, Mission Aviation Fellowship’s aim is to teach remote communities through aviation.
It’s life changing work including enabling cleft palate operations for babies, cataract treatment for the elderly, swift treatment for burns victims and hospital intervention for complicated births.
“I manage the training process here at Stafford, including developing courses and apprenticeship schemes” said Peter. “The current training programme started in 2021. We have four people currently on the course, two who have just finished the theory part of training and two who are coming up to finishing the practical part of the training.
“I get the pleasure of going on the journey with the trainees, seeing them have a sense of calling and purpose, and then seeing them go into the field and have the fulfilment that this sort of work gives.
“It’s hugely rewarding, not just for them but for the programmes they will go on to work on around the world. A lot of the work they will go on to do is literally lifesaving.”
Peter has entered Mission Aviation Fellowship UK into the Skills For The Future and Business in the Community categories of the University of Staffordshire Business Awards.
BJW Health and Safety Services
Skills for the Future entrant
From its headquarters at University of Staffordshire’s Stafford Business Village, BJW Health and Safety Services is working with companies of all sizes, all sectors and based all over the UK.
The family-run team of four offer bespoke health and safety training and consultancy services including first aid training, site inspections, risk assessments, equipment inspections, mental health training and more.
The business was set up by former RAF survival equipment technician and trade instructor Brian Wilson in September 2022.
Jody Wilson then left her role as a contracts manager for Staffordshire Police to join the family business. They have since taken on two members of staff.
Now BJW’s Operations Director, she said: “We predominantly work within a 60 mile radius but we go wherever people ask us to go, including up to Scotland when needed.
“What makes us different is that we have a very human approach. We like to bring personality and fun to what we do so that people learn but also enjoy learning. It’s really rewarding for us when someone leaves one of our sessions saying how much they enjoyed taking part in it.
“We do get a lot of repeat business. The majority of the work we’ve taken on over the last two and a half years has come to us through word of mouth.”
BJW Health and Safety Services has entered the Small Business of the Year and Skills For the Future categories of University of Staffordshire Business Awards.
Ultra Clean Canines
Skills For The Future Award entrant
An animal-loving Staffordshire entrepreneur has set up a training academy combining her teaching qualifications and expertise with an ultrasonic toothbrush for pets.
Emma Cartlich, from Weston Coyney, created Ultra Clean Canines in 2020 after her husband Adrian qualified as a dog groomer.
Emma and Adrian both completed emmi®-pet face-to-face training, bought an emmi®-pet ultrasonic toothbrush and started to deliver an emmi®-pet teeth cleaning, oral care and maintenance service in the Staffordshire and Cheshire area.
They then decided to create and deliver emmi®-pet seminars to teach and support pet care professionals, especially dog groomers, how to successfully implement the emmi®-pet into their business. Emma’s dream of running her own training academy was born.
Emma created a Zoom seminar for pet care professionals and offers the same course in an online pre-recorded version which is hosted on her own, one-of-a-kind learning management system.
E-learning has now overtaken Zoom seminars as people are able to complete the training at a time, location and pace that suits them.
All courses are officially endorsed by the manufacturer of the equipment and include certification.
Word spread and Emma was approached by a dog grooming college to deliver training to their students and course tutors. She now works with a number of colleges around the UK, has her training included in City and Guilds dog grooming courses and is currently creating a mini course for another dog grooming academy.
“I’m the leading emmi®-pet training provider,” said Emma. “The product itself has a really good reputation so people working in the pet industry want to add it into their business. It isn’t just dog groomers, I’m having every type of pet care professional contact me.”
Emma hosts free, live webinars showing people how they can transform their business with emmi®-pet with up to 150 audience members each time who may then go on to take her training.
She’s been working with a student to do a comprehensive analysis of the market in the UK and US including looking at competitors and social media strategy plans.
“I’m feeling really positive and proud,” Emma added. “Ultra Clean Canines has been recognised as the leading training provider of its kind and more and more colleges are coming on board.”
Ultra Clean Canines has entered the Skills for the Future and Small Business of the Year categories of University of Staffordshire Business Awards.
Selina Rudzik of Recruitment Robin
Skills For The Future Award nominee
At Recruitment Robin Selina Rudzik aims to not just shape the future of recruitment but to actively shape the future workforce itself.
A passionate advocate for skills development and professional growth, she is committed to equipping young people with the real-world experience, confidence and career readiness they need to succeed.
Through her work with T-Level students at Newcastle and Stafford Colleges Group, alongside her broader dedication to workplace training and professional development, Selina is making an impact on the careers of young professionals across Staffordshire.
As a leader in the recruitment industry, Selina understands that practical experience is key to professional success. That’s why she has taken an active role in supporting T-Level students, providing them with essential workplace learning opportunities at Recruitment Robin.
She currently has three T-Level students under her wing, offering them hands-on experience in a dynamic business environment where they can apply their knowledge, develop essential skills and gain real insights into the professional world.
Her commitment extends beyond her own business. She is also a placement officer for T-Level students, proactively working with local businesses to secure placements that provide meaningful learning experiences.
She doesn’t just champion T-Levels—she actively creates opportunities for young people to access them, opening doors to businesses that might not have previously considered offering placements.
Based at Hempstalls Lane in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Recruitment Robin aims to help businesses with all of their recruitment, HR and training needs. It works across a wide range of sectors include construction, engineering, manufacturing, logistics and health.
Selina has been nominated in the Skills For The Future category of the University of Staffordshire Business Awards by Sarah Allen from the PR company Shoestring.
Sarah said: “Selina Rudzik is not just an employer offering placements—she is a true ambassador for the future workforce, investing in young people’s careers before they even step into the job market.
“Through her hands-on approach, commitment to professional development and dedication to championing T-Levels across Staffordshire, she is helping to bridge the gap between education and employment.
“Her work is not just beneficial for the students—it’s also a win for local businesses. By introducing young talent to companies and demonstrating the value of early skills development, she is fostering a stronger, more skilled and more confident workforce for the future.”