For Course Advice Call:
0800 802 1306
Options Skills - Electrical, Gas & Plumbing TrainingOptions Skills - Electrical, Gas & Plumbing Training
  • Home
  • Gas Courses
      • Birmingham Gas Training
      • London Gas Training
      • Manchester Gas Training
      • ACS Gas Training Course
      • Fast Track Intensive Gas Courses
      • Gas Training for Plumbers
      • ACS Renewal
      • ACS Initial Assessment
      • How To Become A Gas Engineer
      • Gas Engineer Qualifications
  • Electrician Courses
      • Electrician Courses in Birmingham
      • Electrical Courses in London
      • Electrician Training In Manchester
      • NVQ Level 3 Electrical Training Course
      • Domestic Electrical Installer Award
      • Accelerated Electrical Training
      • Inspection and Testing of Electrical Installations Award
      • 18th Edition Wiring Regulations
      • How to Become an Electrician
      • Electrician Qualifications Explained
      • What is a Competent Persons Scheme?
  • Plumbing Courses
      • Birmingham Plumbing Courses
      • London Plumbing Courses
      • Manchester Plumbing Courses
      • NVQ Level 2 Plumbing Training Course
      • Fast Track Intensive Plumbing Courses
      • How To Become A Plumber
  • Blog
  • About
      • Become a Mentor
      • Candidate Resourcing
      • Career Opportunities
      • Job Club
      • Birmingham Training Centre
      • Manchester Training Centre
      • Purley, London Training Centre
      • Wembley, London Training Centre
      • Resources for Existing Students
      • Finance Packages Available
      • Career Development
  • Contact Us
  • About
    • Options Skills Birmingham Training Centre
    • Options Skills Manchester Training Centre
    • Options Skills Wembley, London Training Centre
    • Options Skills Purley, London Training Centre
    • Blog
    • Become a Mentor
    • Career Opportunities at Options Skills
    • Resources for Existing Students
  • Gas Courses
    • ACS Gas Training Course
    • ACS Renewal
    • ACS Initial Assessment
    • Fast Track Intensive Gas Courses
    • Gas Training for Plumbers
  • Electrician Courses
    • NVQ Level 3 Electrical Training Course
    • Domestic Installer Award
    • Accelerated Electrical Training
    • 18th Edition Wiring Regulations
    • Fast Track Intensive Electrician Courses
    • Inspection and Testing of Electrical Installations Award
  • Plumbing Courses
    • NVQ Level 2 Plumbing Training Course
    • Fast Track Intensive Plumbing Courses
    • How To Become A Plumber
  • Resources for Existing Students
  • Contact Us

Company News

  • Home
  • Company News
  • 2020 At Options Skills

2020 At Options Skills

  • Posted by Catherine Connolly
  • Categories Company News
  • Date December 21, 2020
Two gas students in 2020 working on pipe skills in the workshop

2020 has been a challenging year for all of us, but we also saw just how resilient, thoughtful and strong we all are.

With the year starting relatively normal in the UK, things soon took a turn, and after just three months, things were looking very different.

With a lockdown in March that changed our lives, we had to adapt – and do it quickly. Key workers continued to work as usual (where possible), others were furloughed, some worked from home and for some people in the trades, while work continued, it was in a very different way.

For Options Skills, training centres were closed, and we had to postpone courses indefinitely. With all current classes across our four centres forced to stay home, it was a difficult time, but we made sure to keep in touch with our students throughout and update them weekly.

Following government advice and strict health and safety guidelines, we were able to reopen our centres in the summer. With plenty of precautions in place, we reduced our class sizes and rearrange training schedules. Though it wasn’t easy, our staff worked tirelessly to ensure students were happy with the changes, and we can’t thank our students enough for their cooperation.

Since reopening our centres, things have remained uncertain with the looming question of “will we have to close again?” Thankfully, that wasn’t the case, and despite another lockdown in November, we were able to keep our doors open.

Challenges

Though social distancing brought some challenges our way, we tried our best to overcome them. Where people can’t or would prefer not to visit us, we’ve got Google 360 tours for both our Manchester and Purley training centres. The 360 tours provide an opportunity to see the centres from the comfort of your own homes.

Our course advisors also created videos to replicate guided visits for each one of our centres. These allow for a more immersive experience when combined with our other videos, phone call and email contact.

With smaller class sizes comes more of a demand for classrooms, so we provided just that. Reworking our ground-floor training space, we created several different areas to suit various aspect of the gas training course. With an additional classroom space and more workshop sections, we are now able to offer an extra gas course each month in Birmingham. And with the demand for this course increasing, this will now be a permanent feature.

Good News In 2020

Despite all of the bad we’ve had this year, there has been some good news. We hope that’s been the same for you. Given everything we’ve all been through, even the smallest of achievements or the tiniest bit of good news is worth celebrating.

Reviews

We started 2020 by winning the Feefo Gold Trusted Service Award. Awarded to businesses that collect genuine reviews, it’s a highly-valued badge of approval, and we’re proud to say that our Feefo rating currently stands at 4.9/5.

Speaking of reviews, we also collect feedback on Google, and we hit some milestones this year. Options Skills – Birmingham, our HQ, is currently boasting over 400 reviews with an overall rating of 4.9/5. With over 200 reviews already, our Manchester centre isn’t far behind Birmingham with 4.8/5. And our newest training centre, Purley has already received over 50 reviews and with great feedback comes a rating of 4.7/5. We truly appreciate each person who takes the time to leave us a review. Positive or negative, we use these reviews to help us improve and evolve, with our students at the heart of any changes we make.

The Options Skills Insider

Such good news deserves to be shared, so we began creating bi-monthly email newsletters. And, after the success of these, we expanded our readership by creating a print version. The Options Skills Insider features company announcements and stories. You can find them in each one of our four centres.

A few things that have recently featured in The Options Skills Insider are our career development stories. At the beginning of, we launched our career development team. Their main aim is to find employment for our students, whether that’s as trainees or once they’ve qualified. Lockdown led to a halt in proceedings but, as soon as they could be, the team were back to work. Our first success story was about Kyle, a Birmingham-based trainee electrician who found employment with a local company, Solar RGB. The second saw an ex-footballer-turned-electrician take on one of our London-based students, Jack. With plenty more stories to come, keep an eye on our blog or sign up to our newsletter.

Another place to keep up with us is over on our social channels. This year, we hit over 2000 likes on Facebook. We also surpassed 1000 and 5000 followers on Instagram and Twitter, respectively, and over 500 YouTube subscribers.

In The Training Centre With…

With our centres closed for a few months, filming had to stop. Thankfully, we were able to release episodes #1 and #2 of our new series – In The Training Centre With… before then. The series follows several different training classes at our Birmingham centre. Whether you’re interested in training or merely curious, the series gives you a glimpse into our electrical and gas courses. Though we couldn’t have predicted the lockdown, these videos have proved useful, allowing students to “visit the centre” without really having to visit.

And now that we’re back up and running and students are training again, filming has restarted. For the last couple of months, we’ve been in the centres working on episodes #3 and #4.

Looking Forward To 2021

No one could have predicted how would turn out, so it’s difficult to predict exactly what 2021 will look like, but we’re relatively confident in saying things won’t be back to normal.

With that in mind, we’re not planning on making any changes to class sizes. Due to the pandemic, we reduced class sizes down to eight, and it will remain this way for the foreseeable future. Students will receive the same high-quality training we always deliver, just with fewer people around them.

We’ll also continue to offer virtual visits, encourage using our 360 tours and produce more video content to keep Options Skills as safe as possible.

As previously mentioned, filming for episodes #3 and #4 has already begun. You can expect to see the teasers, trailers and the full episodes in the first half of 2021. And, we’ll be moving straight onto #5 and #6 filming asap.

Should we be able to avoid a further lockdown in 2021, we’re hoping to train even more students next year than ever before. With four centres and extra classes, we don’t see why that couldn’t happen. And with an online portal in the works for staff and students, uploading work and assessments will be easier than ever.

So, once again, thank you to everyone who’s trained with us and to all our staff. Here’s to an even – and hopefully much – better 2021.

Tag:Options Skills News

  • Share:

Previous post

Leon Electricians Ltd Joined By Options Skills Electrical Trainee
December 21, 2020

Next post

How The Gas Industry Is Changing | Going Green
3 January, 2021

You may also like

  • Feefo Platinum Service Award 2021
    Feefo Platinum Trusted Service Award 2021
    25 January, 2021
  • electrical workshop in purley, south london
    Inside Our South London Training Centre
    19 October, 2020
  • Two students undertake pipe soldering in the Options Skills workshop as we reopen after covid-19
    Options Skills Reopen After Covid-19 UK-Wide Shutdown
    4 June, 2020
We aim to respond to all enquiries within 24 Hours, Monday - Friday.

LATEST NEWS & UPDATES

  • Feefo Platinum Trusted Service Award 2021 January 25, 2021
  • How To Join The Gas Safe Register January 18, 2021
  • Will Gas Boilers Be Banned By 2025? | Going Green January 14, 2021
  • How The Gas Industry Is Changing | Going Green January 3, 2021

Categories

  • Careers
  • Company News
  • Going Green Guide
  • Homeowner Guide
  • Nice & Local
  • Placement
  • Small Business Guide
  • Student Resources
  • Testimonials
  • Trade News
  • Tradesperson Guide

Company Info

Options Skills Logo

0800 802 1306

Existing student? Need assistance? Contact Central Support on
0121 638 0966

EMAIL US

Birmingham 

Options Skills Birmingham
The Jubilee Centre
130 Pershore St
Birmingham
West Midlands
B5 6ND

 

Manchester

Options Skills Manchester
68 Grosvenor Street
Manchester
M1 7EW

Purley, London

Options Skills London
Fairbairn Close,
Purley,
CR8 2EJ

Wembley, London

Options Skills London
Unit 3
Abercorn Commercial Centre
Manor Farm Rd
Alperton, Wembley
HA0 1AN

Gas Safe Register
No. 601148

Options Skills Payment Methods
Up to 31st December 2020 Regulated qualifications and UKAS Accredited certificates of competence issued in the UK were widely recognised by other EU member states. However since the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, individual member states that previously recognised a UK qualification may now no longer do so. Learners undertaking qualifications on the basis that it is recognised by an EU member state should in the first instance make enquiries with the relevant bodies in that Country to confirm its recognition status.
Options Skills is Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
We undertake in both regulated and un-regulated business for which we are authorised for under FRN 754473

© Copyright Options Skills Ltd 2020

  • Complaints Procedure
  • Accessibility
  • Price List
  • Course Booking Terms and Conditions
Business As Usual

Our phone lines are open and our course advisors are here to talk. If you wish to get in touch, request a callback via our contact form or call us directly.