About JTL
Empowering people.
Building future.
JTL, established in 1990, is an industry charity delivering apprenticeships in the electrical and plumbing trades across England and Wales.
JTL, established in 1990, is an industry charity delivering apprenticeships in the electrical and plumbing trades.
JTL is one of the largest work-based learning providers in England and Wales working with over 3,800 businesses from large corporations to small local suppliers. We currently work with 8,000 learners and train more apprentices than anyone else in the building services engineering sector.
We are helping thousands of people in England and Wales to launch exciting careers in the building services engineering sector through our apprenticeship courses.
OUR VISION
Our vision is to be the training organisation of choice, through the provision of high-quality programmes that are unrivalled within the sectors we serve.
OUR values
Our success depends on how we work.
Everything we do is guided by our core values. Over a journey spanning nearly 35 years, we’ve identified four key principles that are fundamental to our people, our work and our results.
Professionalism
Respect
Our Governance
JTL is a charitable company limited by guarantee. It was incorporated in 1990, initially operating as JT Limited, and gaining charitable status in 2000. The company’s members are Unite the Union and the Electrical Contractors’ Association (ECA). 
The company is administered by a non-executive Board of Trustees, which is made up of an independent Chair and three independent Trustees plus three further Trustees appointed by each of ECA and Unite. The Board meets quarterly. In addition, there are formal Board Sub-Committees: Investment, Remuneration and Nominations, Audit and Risk, Quality Standards & Safeguarding and Health & Safety.
Board of Trustees
________
Leading JTL’s strategy, operations and delivery across England and Wales.
Sir John Low
Independent Chair
John trained as an engineer, gaining an MSc and PhD and worked within the Bio-medical Physics Dept at the University of Aberdeen.
John Lelliott
Independent Trustee
John is an experienced non-Executive director and finance executive with extensive experience in the real estate, public and voluntary sectors.
Sheila Fraser-Whyte
Independent Trustee
Sheila Fraser Whyte is a Further Education Consultant. Sheila has over 28 years’ experience in the education sector, working with a number of Colleges, Private Training Providers and employers across the country in senior curriculum and quality leader roles.
Jason Poulter
Unite Nominated Representative
Jason served an apprenticeship as an Installation Electrician and has had an interest in apprenticeship training and career progression since that time.
Richard Clarke
Unite Nominated Representative
Richard served his apprenticeship in the electrical contracting industry and joined Unite’s predecessor union the EETPU, qualifying as a JIB Approved Electrician.
John Allott
Unite Nominated Representative
John served an apprenticeship as a plumber and worked in the public and private sector.
Alastair Green
ECA Nominated Representative
Al Joined the industry in 1994 as a craft apprentice with Haden Young, undertaking an NVQ Level 3 in Heating & Ventilation, during which achieved apprentice of the year.
Catherine Watt
ECA Nominated Representative
Catherine is the HR and Employee Relations Director at the Electrical Contractors’ Association (ECA), appointed in February 2025.
Chris Prendergast
ECA Nominated Representative
Chris joined Lloyd Morris Electrical in 1999 as an apprentice electrician. JTL was his Training Provider. He started with workshop training moving to site training within the year.
Our Leadership
Executive Leadership Team
________
The Board delegates the day to day operations of JTL to the executive team. The executive team is led by the Chief Executive supported by the Executive Leadership Team (ELT) which consists of the following roles, each with responsibility for defined functions within the business.
Chris Claydon 
Chief Executive
Chris Claydon MBE joined JTL as Chief Executive in February 2023. His focus is on the quality of the learner journey and he has initiated a number of change programmes, as well as a change in strategic direction, to ensure that quality is at the forefront of all that the charity does.
Gillian Day
Director of Finance and Corporate Services
Gillian is a chartered accountant and chartered director with over 25 years’ experience working both in professional practice and in industry for not for profit and public sector funded organisations.
Clair Bradley
 Director of Operations 
Clair Bradley has been at JTL for four years, recently taking up a new position as Director of Operations and has 17 years experience in the education sector.
Paul Carr 
Deputy Director of Corporate Services 
Paul Carr has been with JTL for seven years having 18 years’ experience in the education and 5 years’ experience in finance.
Paul Estall
Assistant Director of Operations 
Paul Estall joined JTL in 2024 as Assistant Director of Operations. He has almost 20 years’ experience in the apprenticeships and education sector and has held a range of roles including assessor, quality assurer and Head of Quality and Curriculum.
Kirsty Morris 
Head of Public Affairs, Communications and Marketing
Kirsty Morris joined JTL in 2024 with 12 years experience of policy and communications experience, and having worked for Members of Parliament and for a Government Department in Whitehall.
Our Successes & Accreditations
At JTL we’re proud of our successes and we celebrate them. Every year we recognise excellence through our Regional and National Apprenticeship Awards. These awards are a great opportunity to recognise some of the exceptional young people who we have the privilege to train over the course of their apprenticeship programmes. Â
We’re also proud to have been recognised by external bodies and organisations for doing what we do well. Â
Diversity and Quality is key to what we do and we are delighted that our work in these areas has been recognised and rewarded. It’s something we intend to continue to focus on in the years ahead. 
Some of our accreditations include the following:
- C2E Award
- Leadership and Management Wales Quality Award
- Large Learning Provider of the Year at the 2023 Multicultural Apprenticeship Awards 
- Training Provider of the Year 2025 at the Construction Apprenticeship Awards  Â
- Ofsted Good Provider
- Certified to ISO9001:2015 since 1997 Â
- Certified to the Matrix Standard 
- One of the first organisations in the UK to receive ‘Leaders in Safeguarding’ quality mark for its approach and the effectiveness of its safeguarding arrangements Â
Our partners
Trusted Industry Partners
ECA
With more than 100 years’ experience and recognised as the UK's leading trade association; the Electrical Contractors’ Association (ECA) represent the interests of tradespeople who work with electrical and electronic equipment and services. JTL was in fact formed by the coming together of the ECA and Unite the Union in 1990.
JIB
The Joint Industry Board (JIB) is an impartial organisation looking to improve the electrical industry. It does this by setting standards and regulating relations between employers and employees. The work JIB do offers members stability in the workplace, providing employment conditions that will attract, train and motivate the best operatives in the workforce.
EDMUNDSON
Edmundson Electrical is the UK’s leading electrical wholesaler and supplies electrical materials to the trade and industry. Employing more than 4,000 staff and trading from over 380 branches across the country, Edmundson Electrical serves the needs of a vast range of customers ranging from the self employed ‘sole trader’ electrician through to large national mechanical and electrical contracting companies.
UNITE THE UNION
It was Unite the Union who came together with the ECA to form JTL back in 1990. Nowadays, the organisation are Britain’s biggest union, with 1.42 million members in all different types of workplaces. Unite the Union is a democratic and campaigning union, with employees' rights at its heart.
UK Plumbing Supplies
UK Plumbing Supplies are the largest independent plumbers’ merchants in the UK serving their customers from over 300 locations across the UK. They offer unrivalled parts availability nationwide, an expert product knowledge base and dedicated customer service. Their business model allows their managers to make important business decisions that best meet their customers needs.
Corporate Social Responsibility
As a charity and the leading apprenticeship training provider in the building services engineering sector, JTL’s core purpose is the advancement of education. Set up by the industry in order to meet its apprenticeship training needs, JTL has a responsibility to the employers and learners we support to ensure that their specific needs are understood and fulfilled. However, more widely, we recognise our obligation and seek to demonstrate our commitment to corporate social responsibility in the work that we do and the way in which we operate.
More from JTL
Our Policies 
JTL training locations
JTL has a number of dedicated training centres across England and Wales.
About the JTL Group
The JTL Group also includes CompEx, a subsidiary company who are the leading recognised competency standard for hazardous area safety, providing credible assurance for people working in explosive environments.
Company Status
JTL was established in 1990 and is a private limited company by guarantee without share capital. Part of the JTL Group, the company’s registered office is Stafford House, 120-122 High Street, Orpington, Kent BR6 0JS (No 3958541). JTL is also registered as a charity (No: 1080254)
Join our Team
Interested in joining the JTL team?