A leading North West training provider has launched a new range of courses designed to help workplaces support staff with their mental health, following the release of an alarming report into mental health in the workplace.

PHX Training, which has centres across Cumbria and Lancashire, works with employers across the region to deliver workplace training and has unveiled a new range of mental health first aid courses for North West businesses.

It comes after a recent survey shows mental health is falling down employers’ agenda at “an alarming rate” after the pandemic. The annual health and wellbeing at work survey from the Chartered Institute of Professional Development (CIPD) shows awareness of mental health in the workplace has fallen by 20 per cent in the last two years, while training for managers to support staff with mental ill health and for employee coping mechanisms have both fallen in 2022.

In fact, only just over half of businesses have employees trained up to support people experiencing mental health problems, while only one in four businesses are increasing their focus on mental ill health for staff working remotely.

Briony Fawcett, Managing Director at PHX Training, said businesses need make sure they don’t take their eye off the ball when it comes to mental health support.

She said: “During the pandemic, businesses put a real focus on the mental wellbeing of their staff, but as we move forward there is an alarming danger that some companies are losing focus.

“Employees need more mental health support than ever. Whether that is to cope with work related stress, which is a common theme as businesses face supply pressures, or life events such as coping with the rising cost of living or global uncertainty.

“As we’ve already seen, the companies which are failing to look after their employees’ mental health are losing their staff to the ‘Great Resignation’, so investing in their mental wellbeing is not just a health decision but a business critical one too.”

Mental Health First Aid training courses allow staff to understand the signs of employees experiencing a mental health illness and how to support those people within the workplace. Accredited by NCFE, the Level 2 qualification can be completed in person at any of PHX Training’s centres or online.

The training is available as a course for business employees or direct to individuals. For more information on the courses, visit www.phxtraining.co.uk or call 01228 210317.