Employees at specialist Wales-wide training provider, Itec, are set to celebrate their fourth UK Employee Ownership Day (EO Day) on Friday 23rd June.

This year’s EO day, run by the Employee Ownership Association (EOA), is centered around #TheEOeffect, which aims to showcase the impact employee ownership has on employees, business, the wider economy, communities, and the environment.

Itec became the first 100% employee ownership trust in 2019, as part of a succession plan to preserve its status as a leading independent provider and to place their people at the heart of the business.

Founded over 40 years ago, Itec operates across 18 sites in Wales and England, employing over 180 staff, providing quality services within the skills, education and employability sectors, holding Welsh Government contracts to deliver Apprenticeships and Jobs Growth Wales Plus, a Department for Work and Pensions contract (as a provider of Serco) to deliver Restart, an Education and Skills Funding Agency contract to deliver Apprenticeships in England, along with offering commercial training to individuals and employers throughout the UK

Esther Barnes, HR Director for Itec Training Solutions, said:

“Being employee owned provides us with long term stability and through empowering our employees we are continually evolving our business.  I am extremely proud of our loyal and highly motivated team who make a difference and have a say as we seek ways to grow and improve our services for all our customers.

“On EO Day, we will be joining together as a business to reflect on our achievements over the last 12 months and the positive effect being an employee-owned business has had, with a live Q&A session with the Board of Directors and of course, sweet treats will be provided for all to enjoy on the day!”

James de le Vingne, CEO for the Employee Ownership Association, said:

“Companies such as Itec Training Solutions Limited are great examples of the economic and social benefits that can be achieved when employees have a stake and a say in the business in which they work.

“Since it started 11 years ago, the reach of EO Day and the scale of the employee ownership sector has grown, with both having more than doubled in the past few years.

“Now, we have the opportunity to accelerate the pace of growth and reach even wider audiences to shout about employee ownership and its impact.

“At a time of economic turbulence, EO’s benefits for employees, businesses and local areas is particularly relevant. By making as much noise as possible we can help to showcase the impact of employee ownership and #TheEOeffect.”

With numerous events running across the UK and the involvement of thousands of employee owners and other partners, EO Day is an integral part of the EOA’s events calendar and was introduced to raise awareness of employee ownership as an economically strong and balanced business model.

The benefits of employee ownership have been proven in EOA-led research, and include improving employee health and wellbeing, increasing productivity and fostering creativity and innovation across an array of industry sectors. In addition:

• UK employee-owned companies contribute over £30 billion to the UK economy annually
• Employee owners have higher levels of job satisfaction, feel a greater sense of achievement and job security, and are more likely to recommend their workplace than employees in non-employee owned businesses
• Employee-owned businesses operate in a range of sectors including healthcare, social care, education, transport, manufacturing, retail and professional services