SME News Midlands Enterprise Awards 2025/ 30 Best Lean Awareness Training Provider 2025 It was more than 20 years ago that Graham Canning and Stuart Mitton met as trainers and consultants for the Manufacturing Advisory Service, and they have worked together ever since. Sharing an enthusiasm for lean and operational excellence while striving to stand out in a crowded field, they have developed a range of engaging and practical learning programmes that help organisations understand not only what needs to be done to change for the better, but also why change needs to happen. In 2019, Graham and Stuart founded People Centred Excellence, a team of lean specialists who align on the vision to deliver lasting results for clients through training and consultancy. We take a closer look at what makes it such an outstanding organisation. People Centred Excellence does what it says on the tin; keeping its ‘PEOPLE’ values at its core, – Partnership, Empowerment, Openness, Personalisation, Learning, and Excellence – the business is committed to helping organisations and their people to learn, grow, and improve. Based in Market Drayton, Shropshire, People Centred Excellence is a small but growing training and consultancy firm, committed to continuous learning, itself. Partnering with experienced and knowledgeable associate trainers and coaches who share its values of people centred learning and development, it supports and educates clients across the UK and beyond to become ‘better every day’. Indeed, this is made possible by prioritising the building of partnerships across its own team and with its client organisations through collaboration, communication, and mutual respect. It empowers people to reach their full potential, with its dedication to providing equal opportunities for growth, feedback, and dialogue, fostering trust and understanding. Personalisation is also key, recognising the significance of bespoke training and support to ensure complete satisfaction and success for clients. Finally, it is committed to continuous learning and development, where it encourages curiosity, experimentation, and innovation on the journeys of its internal team and clients toward personal and professional growth. “Our business is pivoting its training to develop leaders as coaches, who have the skills to help their teams navigate through turbulent and uncertain times, by using frameworks based on scientific thinking to take small steps forward through experimentation, learning, and reflection, rather than just copy tools and techniques that have worked previously or elsewhere.” – Graham Canning Across their combined 60 years as senior leaders, consultants, and trainers, Graham and Stuart have acquired extensive, first-hand industry knowledge and experience. They have assisted various companies to implement and sustain improvements in safety, quality, cost, delivery, and people development in the UK, US, China, Brazil, Mexico, and Europe. Fulfilling such work, they have gained valuable insight into the pain points of businesses across the globe and understand that real change can only happen and be maintained when people at all levels of an organisation are educated and trained. Graham comments, “There's growing opportunity for training and consultancy interventions that support delivery of vocational and foundational skills to existing employees. This has the advantage of upskilling workers who are perhaps entering the workforce with less academic qualifications, but also helps businesses retain key skilled workers.” Being based centrally in the UK means that People Centred Excellence can support not just local but national and international clients, too, with this being due to good transport links via both road and rail. With its existing clients including NHS University Hospitals of North Midlands, Lloyds Pharmacy, Oscar Mayer and A.N. Wallis, People Centred Excellence has its sights set on continuing to grow its reputation within its core sector of manufacturing, while also expanding into areas such as healthcare, recruitment, and financial services. Ultimately, it really is a business with a service offering that its clients can’t speak highly enough of, with one of them saying: “I’m really proud of the way our community nurse leaders have immersed themselves in the Kata Improvement and Kata Coaching experience delivered excellently by People Centred Excellence.” Company Name: People Centred Excellence Contact Name: Graham Canning Web Address: www.pcetraining.co.uk Jun25111 PEOPLE CENTRED EXCELLENCE
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