People’s Partnership has become the first UK master trust provider to join the Pensions Management Institute (PMI) Development Partner programme, in a move aimed at strengthening professional standards and workforce capability across the organisation.

The partnership will see People’s Partnership embed PMI’s structured, industry-recognised learning pathways across its business, supporting more than 1,000 employees to develop skills and qualifications in response to growing complexity in the pensions landscape.

As the provider of The People’s Pension, which serves more than seven million members and over 100,000 employers, the organisation said the initiative represented a key investment in improving member outcomes.

Under the programme, People’s Partnership will introduce formal qualification standards, expand professional development opportunities across its operations function, and explore becoming a PMI-accredited training partner to deliver learning in-house.

Commenting on the development, PMI chief customer officer, Varsha Gicas, said the move marked an important milestone for the industry.

“People’s Partnership becoming the first master trust to join our Development Partner programme is a landmark moment,” she stated.

“It sends a clear signal about the importance of investing in people to raise standards across the industry.

“As schemes grow in scale and complexity, the need for skilled, qualified pensions professionals has never been greater.

"By embedding structured learning and professional development across its organisation, it is demonstrating real leadership and a strong commitment to delivering better outcomes for its seven million savers.”

People’s Partnership chief operations officer, Angela Staral, added that the collaboration would build on existing foundations to further enhance capability across the organisation.

“We believe that investing in our people is fundamental to delivering the best possible outcomes for our members,” she continued.

“Teaming up with the PMI is a natural next step in our journey to further strengthen professional standards across our fast-growing organisation.

“This exciting joint venture enables us to build on strong existing foundations by embedding recognised learning pathways, enhancing skills, and supporting colleagues to achieve professional qualifications.”

She argued that the initiative would help reinforce members' confidence in the “quality, rigour, passion and professionalism” of the services provided.

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