Today is Employee Ownership Day and research shows that employee-owned businesses perform particularly strongly, with employees demonstrating greater engagement and commitment.

The commercial benefits are also becoming increasingly popular with entrepreneurs creating new businesses, to help attract and reward talented employees and drive business growth.

The number of employee-owned businesses in Wales now stands at 95, far exceeding the Programme for Government commitment to double the number in Wales and reach 74 by 2026.

The Welsh Government’s Business Wales and Social Business Wales service offers specialist advice to support employee buy outs, with fully funded and bespoke help available to help business owners decide if employee ownership and share schemes are the right solution for their business.

One company to receive such support is Cambrian Training Group – a leading provider of apprenticeship and vocational training across Wales.

The Welshpool company, which marked 30 years of business by becoming employee owned earlier this year, was established in 1995 as a subsidiary of Mid Wales Tourism to deliver vocational and hospitality skills as part of the development of the region’s tourism sector.

It now employs 65 staff and has expanded its work-based learning, skills and apprenticeship programmes into a range of other sectors, including manufacturing, retail, and financial services.

Arwyn Watkins OBE, of Cambrian Training Group, said:

“Securing Employee Ownership Trust (EOT) status is a significant step in our journey. Our employees are at the heart of everything we do, and this move ensures that they have a direct stake in our continued success.

“The decision to move towards an EOT rather than opting for a trade sale was motivated by the desire to sustain the company's culture, values, and commitment to quality over the long term.”

The Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning, Rebecca Evans, said:

By improving employee well-being and job satisfaction, the employee-ownership model plays a key part in strengthening the foundations on which every successful business is built.

“It’s proven benefits include giving employees more control over their own destiny, and providing business owners with the peace of mind that that the future of their business is in safe hands, and that the future of their highly valued employees has been safeguarded in the community the business was fostered in.

 “I urge more businesses to explore the benefits on offer via Business Wales and Social Business Wales, to ensure Wales-based companies remain in Welsh hands.”