Training and development in your business – don’t just think of it as something that you have to do, training and development directly impacts your employee’s wellbeing and safety, as well as the consistency and quality of the work they produce.
Training isn’t just about ticking boxes. It’s about building a confident, competent workforce that helps your business grow – and makes sure everyone goes home safe and well, every day.
Whether your team are working on site, in the office, or managing others – their development matters. When people feel equipped and supported, they do better work, take fewer risks, and solve problems faster. That’s good for morale, productivity, and the bottom line.
Today, we’ll take a quick look at how training supports you, your staff and your business, because at the end of the day, investing in people isn’t just the right thing to do – it’s what keeps your standards high and your projects running smoothly.
Investing in formal training
Whether it’s qualifications, certifications, or job-specific development – builds a stronger, safer, more capable team. When your team hold professional qualifications, they are not just valuable to you, they’re valuable to employees across their whole career.
When the business is funding external training, individuals may be asked to sign a training agreement. It’s a fair and transparent way to protect the investment your business is making.
What that usually means is: if someone leaves shortly after completing the training, they may be asked to repay a portion of the cost. It’s not about tying anyone down – it’s simply about being responsible with the time, money, and resources the business invests.
Most of your team will see this as a sign of trust. It means you believe in them enough to invest – and you’re planning for them to stick around and grow.
These agreements help you keep building capability and consistency across your team, which in turn helps you deliver reliable, high-quality services to your customers.
Encourage a growth mindset in your business
Growth mindset is the belief that skills and knowledge can be developed through effort, feedback, and good habits.
It’s about learning from mistakes instead of hiding them and improving every time the job is done.
For your business, this means working with people who are proactive – not just qualified, but engaged. They’re curious, adaptable, and always looking for safer, smarter, more efficient ways to deliver your projects.
Your best people aren’t the ones who know it all – they’re the ones who stay curious, seek out training, and learn from experience. They’re problem-solvers, not just box-tickers.
The businesses that really thrive are the ones that create space for people to learn and grow. When individuals grow, the whole team gets stronger – and that’s how you keep delivering consistent, high-quality work for your clients.
Some training simply isn’t optional, it’s about compliance!
Health & Safety, Environmental awareness, and job-specific certifications are legal or industry requirements. Without them, your team can’t work – full stop!
More importantly, skipping these puts people at risk and exposes your business to serious consequences – whether that’s legal action, project delays, or reputational damage.
That’s why you need to take compliance seriously making sure everyone has the right qualifications and that those credentials are kept up to date. That could include things like CSCS cards, SMSTS, professional memberships, NVQs, and other role-specific training.
When you invest in keeping qualifications, memberships and tickets current, you’re not just ticking a box, you’re making sure every person who delivers your service is competent, confident, and working to recognised industry standards, protecting your business – ensuring the job gets done safely, legally, and to the high standards you and your customers expect.
So how do you go about managing the training you need or have invested in?
Using a Training Matrix, a central record of every qualification, certification, and course completed across the team tracks what training each person has done, when it was completed, when it expires, and what’s coming up next – so nothing slips through the cracks.
It helps you stay compliant, avoid expired tickets, and make sure we’ve always got the right people in the right roles – with the right skills.
It also helps you plan ahead. You can see where training gaps are developing, where someone might need a refresher, or what’s needed for a promotion or new responsibility.
By promoting a growth mindset, managing training proactively with tools like the Training Matrix, and supporting your team with structured development and fair training agreements, you’re not just building skills – you’re building a stronger, more resilient business.