Lancashire textiles specialist earns apprenticeships award

Panaz received the Small-Medium Business Award for Supporting Apprenticeships at this year’s Nelson and Colne College Group’s annual awards ceremony, while Panaz’s Project Team Leader, Rebecca Carroll, was named Leadership and Management Apprentice for 2022.

Since its inception in Lancashire in 1986, Panaz said it has had a longstanding relationship with the college as part of its commitment to supporting the local economy and consistently encouraging employees to further advance their professional development.

Michael Loutfi, head of customer services and projects at Panaz, said: “Teamwork is at the epicentre of everything we do at Panaz and every employee forms a part of this team. We therefore take the training and professional development of each individual extremely seriously and this is reflected through our longstanding relationship with Nelson and Colne College.”

A significant proportion of employees who have completed apprenticeship programmes at the college with the support of Panaz have continued to develop their career with the business for many years.

This includes Nadeem Memon, Panaz’s Group chief financial officer, who joined the business in the 1990s as a Nelson and Colne College apprentice.

Rebecca Carroll also started her career at Panaz 18 years ago as a projects apprentice, with Panaz supporting her NVQ Level 2 and 3 in both Business Administration and Management.

Having recently achieved a distinction grade in ILM Level 3 in Team Leadership and Management, Rebecca is currently completing an ILM Level 5 in Operations Management.

Panaz currently has three employees completing apprenticeship programmes at Nelson and Colne College Group, reflecting its longstanding commitment to supporting every employee in upskilling in a flexible way to suit both their career and personal lives.