Welsh first for Welshpool-based company

Welshpool-based Cambrian Training Company is the first training provider in Wales to become accredited as a UK Living Wage employer. 

The award-winning work based learning provider, which has a workforce of 42 employees with offices also in Holyhead, Colwyn Bay, Brecon and Llanelli, is one of only six elite organisations throughout Wales to receive official recognition. 

The Living Wage is an hourly rate set independently and updated annually, which is based on the cost of living in the UK. The Living Wage Campaign, which has been running for a decade, aims to ensure that workers and their families have an adequate standard of living and can live free from poverty. 

Whilst wages, including the national minimum wage, are not rising as fast as the cost of living, the Living Wage ensures that families earn an adequate living. Lower paid workers receive a wage in excess of the national minimum wage. 

The company feels that by paying the Living Wage, it is rewarding staff fairly for the hard work they do and ensuring that they do not suffer as living costs rise continually.

“The company is delighted and proud to achieve this recognition, taking into account the current economic climate and the fact that the majority of the workforce is employed in one of the lower paid areas of the UK,” said Arwyn Watkins, Cambrian Training Company’s chairman and managing director.

“Receiving the UK Living Wage helps individuals to be more contented and satisfied in their employment. Hopefully the business will also benefit through improvement in the recruitment and retention of staff, higher employee morale and motivation, whilst also gaining reputation for being an ethical and fair employer.”

Mr Watkins encouraged other businesses across Wales to become accredited UK Living Wage employers to reward staff for their work and loyalty.

Cambrian Training Company has won a series of national awards over the past decade, culminating in the Apprenticeship Provider of the Year for Wales in last year’s Apprenticeship Awards Cymru.