Shropshire-based employment and training charity, Landau, has been formally presented with a Queen’s Award for Enterprise – the most prestigious honour in business.
The charity, recognised for Promoting Opportunity (through Social Mobility), hosted an exclusive event for staff, volunteers, learners and honorary guests, and Shropshire’s Lord-Lieutenant Anna Turner presented Landau’s chief executive Sonia Roberts with the Queen’s Award grant of appointment and crystal trophy.
Sonia Roberts said the ceremony provided a perfect opportunity to recognise the dedication and hard work by teams working with some of the most vulnerable people in society.
“To be recognised by the Queen’s Award for the work that we do supporting 3,000 people each year into jobs and training is a huge privilege and is another key milestone for us to continue to develop and showcase our service offering. We know that more than eight million working aged people in the UK have a disability, mental illness or learning disability — yet only 52 per cent of these people are in paid employment.
“Our fantastic team focuses on delivering personalised interventions and support. We build relationships with the people we help to understand their individual aspirations and needs and then develop a pathway, building on existing skills and strengths, to help the individual transition into learning or employment and achieve their goals.”
Landau was just one of four organisations in the county that was bestowed with a Queen’s Award in the 55th year for the prestigious honours.
Lord-Lieutenant of Shropshire, Anna Turner, told the Landau team at the event: “This is a highly coveted award, which is incredibly difficult to earn and much sought after. The scrutiny of the awarding panel is meticulous and you should be really proud. You have been recognised as exceptional and demonstrated outstanding resulting in promoting opportunity.”
Founded in 1995, Landau has training sites across the West Midlands and an online presence that spans the whole of England and Scotland.
In 2020 it became a nationall- recognised Centre of Excellence for its IPS service as well as becoming the highest scoring RAND reviewed service in the UK. Earlier this year, Landau also received a High Commendation in the Response to Covid-19 category at the 2021 Learning Excellence Awards, specifically for its IN2 programme.
It has also launched its We See You campaign, which aims to drive greater diversity and inclusivity in workplaces across the UK.
Pictured: Sonia Roberts, Landau chief executive