Waterstons Academy launch to nurture new business talent

Waterstons, a Durham-headquartered business and IT consultancy, has launched a new corporate university aimed at nurturing new business talent.

The ‘Waterstons Academy’, founded earlier this month, aims to develop the company’s growing team of consultants with a variety of in-house training courses on a range of key business skills, including leadership, risk management and communication.

Waterstons’ workforce — based in offices across the UK and Australia — is expanding, and the company has introduced the academy to help them meet the needs of their consultants as the business grows.

The flexible courses offered by the academy have been designed to fit into employees’ everyday workloads, with course topics being created and delivered by their own people across all locations on a term-by-term basis.

The courses are voluntary and integrate blended learning methods, including face-to-face, online and distance learning, as well as self-study and virtual reality training.

The company hopes that the academy will help them continue to attract the best talent and provide their best client experience yet.

Leanne Cullen, operations director, said: “At Waterstons we have strong company values centred around our people.

“They are our biggest asset and their expertise and skills are key to our business success and for delivering exceptional work for clients.

“As we continue to grow, we want to make sure our consultants do too.

“Through the Waterstons Academy we can help them develop and thrive in a forward thinking and creative way.”

Heather Lawson, learning and development lead, commented: “With our team of consultants continuing to expand and our first international office opening soon, this was an opportune time to refocus our approach to employee learning and development.

“The blended learning approach means that the right skills and knowledge can be shared across our different offices, and it gives consultants ownership of their skills development.”

Waterstons provides technology-based solutions for clients across a wide range of sectors, helping businesses improve performance and sharpen their competitive edge.

This year, the company will recruit 20 new graduates, placement students, and apprentices, and its workforce is anticipated to reach 200 people by 2020.