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Group Horizon picks up third BCIA training award

BCIA Awards 2025 - Contribution to Training Award Winners

National training provider Group Horizon has won its third BCIA award in the Contribution to Training category.

Held at The Eastside Rooms in Birmingham on 1st May 2025, the BCIA Awards is the flagship event for the building controls industry, celebrating the very best the sector has to offer.

Facing some strong competition, Group Horizon completed its hat-trick of BCIA awards thanks to its Building Energy Management Systems (BEMS) Controls Engineer Apprenticeship, which is helping to address a nationwide shortage of BEMS controls engineers. The Apprenticeship previously won in the same category in 2022 and 2023 and the latest award reflects its progress, development and growing importance to the industry since its launch in 2021.

With nearly 250 learners enrolled from 98 different employers, the apprenticeship programme has empowered participants to achieve their professional goals while consistently meeting and exceeding the expectations of their employers. It has achieved an impressive learner retention rate of 91.1%, positioning it among the top-performing programmes of its kind, as recognised by the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE).

Group Horizon Director Peter Behan commented: “We are absolutely delighted to win this prestigious award for a third time. Our objective with the BEMS Controls Engineer Apprenticeship was to address an urgent need to bring qualified BEMS controls engineers into the industry and overcome a chronic skills shortage.”

He added: “The feedback from delegates has been excellent and we hope that we can continue helping to provide the engineers to keep the buildings of tomorrow running efficiently.”

First learner completes BEMS Controls Engineer Apprenticeship programme

Group Horizon is celebrating a significant milestone as the national training provider’s first BEMS Controls Engineer Apprentice has now passed his end point assessment (EPA) and successfully completed the Level 4 Apprenticeship programme.

End point assessments are carried out by an independent body and, through a mix of practical and written tests, examine whether the apprentice has developed the necessary knowledge, skills and behaviours outlined in the apprenticeship standard.

As the first of many newly qualified BEMS Controls Engineers, Andrew Knibbs of P A Collacott & Co has demonstrated the drive, determination and aptitude for learning required to succeed in the building controls industry. With more than 40 learners set to complete the programme and pass through their end point assessment before the end of the year, the building controls sector is set to receive an influx of qualified BEMS Controls Engineers at a time when the industry needs it the most.

Developed in partnership with the Building Controls Industry Association (BCIA), the BEMS Controls Engineer Apprenticeship has now attracted over 250 learners from more than 100 different employers. The popularity of the apprenticeship coupled with an impressive and unmatched retention rate of over 90% (as recognised by IFATE) has demonstrated the industry’s appetite for this robust learning pathway which allows apprentices to combine practical hands-on work with classroom-based learning.

Peter Behan, Director of Group Horizon, commented: “Huge congratulations to Andrew for being our first apprentice to complete the programme and qualify as a BEMS Controls Engineer. It’s been quite the journey from initial course development through to our first end point assessment and it’s incredibly rewarding to see all of that hard work beginning to pay off as we look to equip the industry with the skills needed to develop and future-proof the buildings of tomorrow.”

Jen Vickers, Vice-President of the BCIA, added: “Congratulations to Andrew – the first qualified BEMS Controls Engineer to complete the Level 4 Apprenticeship. This is a significant achievement not only for Andrew but for Group Horizon, who have worked tirelessly to ensure that the apprenticeship is fit for purpose and achievable. Credit must also go to Andrew’s employer who will have provided the support network for him to succeed and to the BCIA which as an association will also now benefit from the hard work that was put into developing this pathway and addressing the skills gap.”

Data Technician Apprenticeship offers a well-mapped route into data management

Group Horizon is advocating the Data Technician Level 3 Apprenticeship as an ideal starting point in preparation for a fulfilling career in data management.

Data technicians are found in all industry sectors where data is generated or processed, including finance, retail, education, health, media, manufacturing and hospitality. The job often entails sourcing, formatting and presenting data for analysis, communicating outcomes appropriate to an audience, analysing structured and unstructured data to support business outcomes and blending data from multiple sources.

Designed to fulfil the growing demand for data management expertise, the Data Technician Level 3 apprenticeship specifically focuses on training and developing data technicians who can support the day-to-day data needs of a business. It is a qualification that teaches learners how to utilise a wide variety of tools and techniques to manage and analyse data, both internally and externally.

This represents an excellent foundation qualification, acting as the initial step towards a rewarding data career and attracting learners who may not have an existing data-based qualification. The curriculum provides a solid grounding in the current data management tools and techniques required to enable an individual to start their data career and develop their skills.

The apprenticeship reflects a number of different areas focused on data management, including types of data, data tool, data architecture, data quality, data analysis techniques and how to communicate data and results effectively.

This course will also allow learners to further their development within a specialism such as data analytics, eventually progressing onto the Level 4 Data Analyst Apprenticeship.

Group Horizon’s Data Analyst Apprenticeship Level 4 will enable learners to take this next step and has been designed for new and existing employees who wish to progress and develop their skills through a balance of technical training and on the job activities.

For further details email info@grouphorizon.co.uk

Group Horizon is Cyber Essentials Plus Certified

Group Horizon is pleased to announce that it has received Cyber Essentials Plus certification.

Cyber Essentials is a set of baseline technical controls produced by the UK Government and security industry to help organisations – large and small – improve their cyber security defences and demonstrate a public commitment to their network security and the standards to which they operate. Fundamentally, the scheme addresses the most common internet-based attacks that use widely available tools and that need very little skill for the attacker to use.

Cyber Essentials requires organisations to have a number of technical and procedural controls in place to improve their information security in order to mitigate common internet-borne cyber-attacks. Cyber Essentials Plus is a series of tests that provide a further level of assurance that these technical controls have been successfully implemented within an organisation.

Group Horizon has undergone an audit of its IT system by one of Cyber Essentials’ highly trained assessors and can now declare publicly, that the company has been proven to meet baseline security standards set out by Cyber Essentials Plus.

Group Horizon Managing Director Karen Nichols said: “Having already achieved the Cyber Essentials standard we decided we wanted to take our commitment to cyber security one step further and Cyber Essentials Plus is the audited version of the Cyber Essentials information security standard. We are extremely happy to have received this top-level certification so that our clients can be reassured our IT systems are protected by the very best cyber security.”

Group Horizon shortlisted for CIBSE Building Performance Award

Group Horizon shortlisted for CIBSE Building Performance Award

Group Horizon has been named as a finalist in the 2024 CIBSE Building Performance Awards.

The prestigious awards celebrate and recognise the very best people, products and projects that demonstrate engineering excellence in the built environment and are the only industry awards that focus on measured performance outcomes and not just design intent or performance specifications.

With the winners announced at an awards evening taking place on 29 February 2024 at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge, Group Horizon has been named on the shortlist in the ‘Learning and Development’ category in recognition for its work in successfully delivering apprenticeships that meet the needs of the building services industry.

The building services industry is seeking to achieve ambitious targets on the journey to Net Zero but for many years has suffered from a lack of specialist training. This, coupled with a skills shortage, which has plagued certain areas of the industry for many years, means that achievement of these targets begins to look increasingly unlikely.

As a national training provider, Group Horizon has sought to meet these challenges head on by engaging with the industry and embarking on a journey to deliver a series of niche apprenticeships which address the need to attract and train new entrants to the market and provide a solution to the long-term skills shortage in the industry.

Commenting on Group Horizon’s shortlisting for the Awards, Peter Behan, Group Horizon Director said: “We’re delighted to be named on the shortlist in the Learning and Development category. In delivering these apprenticeships we have enabled learners to develop relevant and desirable skills that are valued by employers across the UK and it’s a testament to our team that we are consistently recognised as a leading provider of industry specific training.”

Group Horizon at Smart Buildings Show 2023

Group Horizon at Smart Buildings Show 2023

Following a successful show in 2022, Group Horizon is returning to Smart Buildings Show at ExCeL, London on 18th-19th October 2023.

Smart Buildings Show is the UK’s leading exhibition and conference dedicated to the smart buildings industry and provides visitors with the information they need to arrive at an informed decision on how to make their buildings more economic for owners and more functional for occupiers.

The show features a wide range of CPD-accredited training sessions from some of the top names in the industry as well an exhibition hall packed full of leading vendors.

Group Horizon offers courses and apprenticeships that offer a gateway into the flourishing smart building sector, including the BEMS Controls Engineer Apprenticeship Level 4 and the Data Analyst Apprenticeship Level 4. As a national training provider, Group Horizon invests heavily in research and curriculum development to ensure that these programmes are delivered to meet the needs of employers and the smart buildings market.

Come and visit Group Horizon on Stand A25 to learn more about industry focused training courses and apprenticeships.

To book your free ticket(s) for Smart Buildings Show, click here.

Group Horizon Celebrates Renewed Matrix Accreditation

Group Horizon celebrates renewed Matrix accreditation

Group Horizon has once again achieved Matrix accreditation after meeting stringent assessment criteria.

The Matrix standard is recognised within the sector as the international quality standard for organisations that deliver information, advice and guidance (IAG). Having held Matrix accreditation for the past 10 years, Group Horizon has been consistently recognised as a leading IAG provider and is committed to upholding the highest possible standards by benchmarking against best practice.

The matrix Standard comprises four elements:

Leadership and Management
Resources
Service Delivery
Continuous Quality Development

In order to achieve accreditation, an independent assessor must confirm that all criteria are met. As the Matrix standard is an outcome-based standard, the assessor will not only look at the processes used to support delivery but also at the results achieved. Primary evidence is collected through interviews with individuals directly involved in delivery and those affected by it.

Group Horizon’s latest Matrix assessment took place across two days and closely examined the organisation’s approach to supporting learners, employees, partners and employers in providing information, advice and guidance.

Peter Behan, Director at Group Horizon, commented: “We are delighted to have again secured Matrix accreditation and it’s a testament to the outstanding efforts of our team that we will be able to continue to proudly display the Matrix quality mark. Thank you to everyone involved in the accreditation process as well as our exceptional learners and employers.”

Group Horizon Wins Training Award for Second Year Running

Group Horizon wins training award for second year running

For the second year in a row Group Horizon has won the Contribution to Training Award at the BCIA Awards.

As the biggest and best awards programme in the building controls and BEMS industry, the BCIA Awards recognise innovation, product development, project delivery and great training, culminating in a prestigious ceremony at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole.

Facing fierce competition in the form of six other shortlisted finalists, Group Horizon once again claimed the Contribution to Training Award in recognition of its work in successfully delivering the Building Energy Management Systems (BEMS) Controls Engineer Apprenticeship Level 4 and helping to bring through the controls engineers of tomorrow.

Group Horizon Director Peter Behan collected the trophy on the night of the ceremony and commented: “We are thrilled to have picked up this award for the second year running. The BEMS Controls Engineer Apprenticeship programme continues to go from strength to strength and Group Horizon are proud to be able to deliver technical training to the next generation of learners.”

More information on the BEMS Controls Engineer Apprenticeship can be found here.

BCIA 2023 Awards Team Photo

BCIA 2023 Awards Winner

BCIA 2023 Awards Contribution to Training Winner

BCIA 2023 Awards Winners

BCIA 2023 Awards Contribution to Training Nominees

BCIA 2023 Awards Apprentice of the Year

BCIA 2023 Awards

PREVENT

Peter Behan, Director at Group Horizon, discusses the company’s commitment to support the prevention of Extremism and Radicalisation.

The current threat from Terrorism and Extremism in the United Kingdom is real and severe and can involve the exploitation of vulnerable people, including children and young people.

Radicalisation is defined as the process by which people come to support terrorism and extremism and, in some cases, to then participate in terrorist groups. Extremism is vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs.

PREVENT is a key part of the Government’s strategy to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism. Early intervention is at the heart of PREVENT in diverting people away from being drawn into terrorist activity. The PREVENT strategy objectives are:

Ideology: respond to the ideological challenge of terrorism and the threat we face from those who promote it.
Individuals: prevent people from being drawn into terrorism and ensure that they are given appropriate advice and support
Institutions: work with sectors and institutions where there are risks of radicalisation which we need to address.

All staff should have an awareness of the PREVENT agenda and the various forms of radicalisation takes in being able to recognise signs and indicators or concern and respond appropriately.

There is no such thing as a ‘typical extremist’ and those involved in extremism come from a range of backgrounds and experiences. A variety of indicators may help to identify factors that suggest a young person or their family may be vulnerable or involved with extremism, including an identity crisis, where an individual may seem uncomfortable with their place in the society around them. Local community tensions and events affecting an individual’s country or region of origin can also have an effect, as well as a rejection of civic life and involvement in criminal activity.

Any identified concerns as the result of observed behaviour or reports of conversations to suggest that the young person supports terrorism and/or extremism, must be reported to the named designated safeguarding professional immediately and no later than the end of the working day.

Where a young person is thought to be at risk of significant harm, or where investigations need to be carried out (even though parental consent may be withheld), a referral to Children’s Social Care should be made in line with the company’s Safeguarding Policy. However, it should be recognised that concerns of this nature, in relation to violent extremism, are most likely to require a police investigation (as part of the Channel process).

Channel referral process

Some concerns which are identified may have a security dimension to them. For this reason, it is important that liaison with the police forms an early part of all investigations. Police will carry out an initial assessment and, if appropriate, set up a multiagency meeting to agree actions for supporting the individual. If it is deemed that there are no concerns around radicalisation, appropriate and targeted support will be considered for the young person.

External speakers

Due to the nature of our business and the delivery methods we use, GHL would not normally engage with external speakers. However, in the unlikely event we do decide to invite someone in we would always adhere to a strict set of principles to ensure the safeguard of our learners and employees. GHL employees are briefed to ensure that external speakers are made aware of our policy prior to any guest speaking with learners and follow the guidance set out in that policy. Any speaker that may be deemed to cause reputational risk to GHL or our partners will not be permitted to speak to or interact with learners.

PREVENT happens before any criminal activity takes place. It is about recognising, supporting and protecting people who might be susceptible to radicalisation.

Diversity and Inclusion

Peter Behan, Director at Group Horizon, highlights the company’s commitment to creating a diversity strategy of which equal opportunities is a part.

Diversity recognises that we are all different and involves building an environment where people are respected as individuals and where their diverse range of views, perceptions, qualities, experiences, and contributions are valued. Diversity is about the culture and environment of work and whilst equality and diversity are different concepts, equality is an essential ingredient in achieving diversity.

The principle of non-discrimination and equality of opportunity applies equally to the treatment of employees, learners, visitors, clients, customers, and suppliers. Our intention at Group Horizon is that both our staff and our learners reflect the diversity of our nation’s population.

All staff and learners have the right to be free from harassment and bullying of any description or from any other form of unwanted behaviour whether based on gender, trans- gender status, race, disability, age, political or religious belief or sexuality.

Types of discrimination

Discrimination can come in a range of forms and some are not always immediately obvious:

Direct – Putting a person at a disadvantage for a reason related to one or more of the following grounds: gender, marital status, gender reassignment, ethnic or national origin, religion, belief, trade union membership, political affiliation, part- time or fixed term status, age, or disability.

Harassment – where unwanted physical, verbal, or non-verbal conduct occurs which has the purpose or the effect of, affecting a worker or a learners dignity, or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for that person.

Indirect – less obvious discriminatory treatment i.e. where an individual is subjected to an unjustified provision, criterion or practice which puts them at a particular disadvantage because of their gender, marital status, gender reassignment, ethnic or national origin, nationality, race, colour, sexual orientation, religious belief, trade union membership, part time or fixed time status, age, or disability.

Victimisation – treating a person less favourably than another on the grounds that he/she has taken legal rights against discrimination or to assist a colleague in some way.

The objective is to address situations positively and timely and correct them, so early advice of situations is far better than allowing them to deteriorate beyond a point where remedial action can be taken.

Positive Discrimination

Positive action in recruitment and promotion can be used where an employer reasonably thinks that people with a protected characteristic are under-represented in the workforce, or suffer a disadvantage connected to that protected characteristic.

In practice it allows an employer faced with making a choice between two or more candidates who are of equal merit to take into consideration whether one is from a group that is disproportionately under-represented or otherwise disadvantaged within the workforce. This is sometimes called either a ‘tie-breaker’ or the ‘tipping point’. However, this kind of positive action is only allowed where it is a proportionate way of addressing the under-representation or disadvantage.

Remember, all staff and learners have an equal chance to contribute and to achieve their potential.

For further information please visit Group Horizon’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy here

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