Wiltshire tech firm lands contract to train international scientists at CERN

A Wiltshire technical training company has landed a prestigious contract to train scientists and staff at the world-renowned research centre, CERN.

Framework Training overcame strong competition from other providers to win the contract with the Geneva-based Intergovernmental Organisation, which operates the largest particle physics laboratory in the world and is home to the Large Hadron Collider.

Based in Marlborough, Framework Training specialises in delivering instructor-led technical training to clients across the UK, Europe and the Middle East. The contract with CERN is to deliver training in the Python programming language, to a range of employees at the organisation, from support and admin staff to scientists and data analysts.

Ian Watson, Managing Director of Framework Training, said: “It’s a real honour to have been selected. From a personal point of view, we’ve always been fascinated by this project. CERN is all about education and public service, bringing European countries together in the name of research, and this is something we are thrilled to be involved in. The value to our business of working with CERN is enormous because it is such a prestigious organisation; the fact that a small, UK-based business has been chosen is fantastic,” said Ian.

“We are now CERN’s provider of Python language training. It is a really accessible language whilst also being the de facto choice for scientists and data analysts. CERN is using Python at the very core of all its scientific research. We’ll be working with many people at the organisation, from teaching their non-programmers to code, right through to data analytics training for the scientists.”

The training gets underway in March and the contract lasts for an initial three years, with an opportunity for extension. It will be delivered via a combination of in-person training in Geneva and remote training via video link. All training will be live and instructor-led.

Ian added: “We believe providing genuine domain experts to guide learners is the most effective way for people to get to grips with new technologies and advanced techniques. Our courses are very hands-on, as people learn best from ‘doing’ rather than listening. Our instructors bring their real-world experience into the classroom and rarely deliver the same course twice, as they adapt each course to suit the clients and learners we are working with.”

CERN also delivers tech training to organisations such as the BBC, Ordnance Survey, Dell and Cancer Research, as well as a number of NGOs, universities and NHS Trusts.

Framework Training was initially invited to tender for the contract last August. The invitation came on behalf of CERN from the Swindon-based Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC). CERN had asked STFC to source potential UK-based tech companies to provide its Python training.

Ian said: “We were able to speak to CERN to find out more about its requirements, then put together a comprehensive proposal. While value and quality were the key metrics, the fact that we are a B Corp was certainly an attractive factor for CERN.”

Framework Training, founded in 2010, has been a certified B Corp since 2018 and recently recertified for a further three years with an improved sustainability rating. It is part of a global movement of businesses which pledge to ensure the social and environmental impact of what they do is prioritised equally with profitability.