Sterling Training has been selected to deliver specialist trainer training programmes on behalf of the Defence Academy of the UK, in a move aimed at reinforcing instructional capability across defence training activities.
The Defence Academy of the UK holds a central role as the Ministry of Defence’s institution for professional military education and training for the UK Armed Forces, and is now working alongside Sterling Training to strengthen trainer delivery across its range of programmes, with an emphasis on improving outcomes for its internationally based delegates.
This latest appointment is indicative of a wider shift within both defence and commercial environments, where increasing pressure to meet the needs of a more diverse and multicultural workforce has led to greater investment in flexible, adaptable internal training capability.
Sterling Training, which was co-founded by Managing Director Emma Lacey and has its headquarters in Southampton, specialises in training solutions that can be deployed rapidly and are available through both in-person and digital delivery, supporting clients across national and international markets in both defence and business training arenas.
“To now be appointed by the Defence Academy of the UK is a real validation of everything we’ve built, and reflects our commitment to excellence, innovation and long-term impact in defence education and training,” said Emma.
The organisation was originally established to deliver rapidly deployable training solutions for military organisations.
“I started Sterling Training in 2015 to meet the demand for high-quality, rapidly deployable training solutions for international military organisations. Beginning in Oman, we quickly earned a reputation for delivering outstanding bespoke training, tailored to diverse operational requirements.
“TILT (Train the International Learner and Trainee) was born from that experience – designed to ensure our own trainers could deliver in any cultural context – but what happened next surprised even us. It was identified as addressing a critical gap within the British Army’s own framework, adopted as a solution and has since been delivered to more than 2,000 serving personnel,” added Emma.
The TILT programme was developed in 2016 to support effective, consistent and adaptable training delivery across varied learning environments and a wide range of learner profiles. It is embedded within Sterling Training’s trainer development approach and used across defence-related training contexts.
The appointment comes as defence and commercial organisations increasingly focus on strengthening internal training capability in response to changing learning environments, including the growth of hybrid and digital delivery models.
Within defence training environments, there is a continued shift towards developing internal instructional capability as organisations modernise training systems and adapt to evolving workforce requirements.
“Synthetic training environments come with inherent dangers”, says Emma, “if we simply bolt technology onto poor trainer practice, we simply have more expensive, less effective training.”
In addition to its international defence work, Sterling Training has held a continuous contract with the British Army since 2016, including the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, with 6–10 TILT courses delivered annually. Further details on trainer training courses for UK Forces personnel available online.
