testimonials

what those we work with have to say…

Others say it best

We have 21 years of flexible, open, caring, creative partnerships under our belt.
We design training and workshops to fit each unique situation and our clients explain it best...

Scroll to the bottom of the page or click ‘other clients’ below for links to individual client testimonial pages…

Luke Simmons

I have found working with Azesta absolutely brilliant, it's been engaging educational and fun.
I've benefited professional and personally from all of my Azesta sessions and I'm really looking forward to seeing my team doing the same, now and in the future.

Participant feedback

9.4/10

Our participant feedback speaks for us, with an average score of

Based on figures from 2018-2022 where 322 participants were kind enough to leave feedback for us to review and improve with.

Guy Sorrill

My name is Guy Sorrill, I work for a company called Sysdoc. We are working with Azesta on a leadership development program, and I'm pleased to say that this is some of the best leadership training and development that we've ever had in Sysdoc. The collaborative, open, relaxed but professional approach has been a breath of fresh air and we look forward to working with Azesta in the Future.

Let’s check out what other business leaders have said about our training…

“When we wanted to develop the 14 most senior leaders in our business, we approached a number of providers to put together a proposal for us. We whittled it down to 5 providers that we invited to come & present to us. Shirley & Andy from Azesta seemed very much in line with our values & approach & we were quickly convinced that they were the right people to develop our leaders. Their approach to learning was very fun, interactive & engaging & we ran a series of 6 modules over 12 months interspersed with reading key texts & action learning sets which they helped us to facilitate. Each module was individually designed for us & delivered in a different location with a combination of thought provoking video, group discussion, experiential exercises, interactive theory & interesting anecdote. Our organisational culture & values were reinforced, learning was fully embedded in the organisation & over the course of the year, each individual made significant progress in their personal development. Several people moved on to other roles, myself to Director & one of our Directors to a Chief Executive role at Hull University which was part of what we had hoped for from the programme. The great things about Azesta are firstly, their complete flexibility in terms of designing exactly what we wanted & adapting & developing during the modules themselves according to our needs & interests, secondly their complete transparency over costs & willingness to attend additional meetings & travel to venues free of charge & thirdly the quality of their delivery which is professional, knowledgeable but at the same time fun!”

— Antonia Freeza, HR Director Leeds University Union

Jimi Kaleda

I always really really enjoy working with Azesta. It's always fun, it has real purpose, and it has great outcomes as well. Experiential learning, designed in the way that Azesta do, really embeds the learning and what it can do for the business, so I'm really excited to continue my relationship with Azesta .

  • “Shirley has put together a tailored leadership programme for our management team that is constantly reviewed & adapted to meet the needs of the individual participants, the team & the business. This is not just another ‘training course’ but a really effective development programme that is delivering real benefits to the participants & to the bottom line of the business.”

    | Neil Partlett - former CEO, BNL

  • “Shirley has run our in-house management development programme from September 2013. Right from the start she took the time to understand our business & the needs of our people. She listened to the challenges we faced as a business & the goals & aspirations of the people that were earmarked to attend. Shirley has a lovely warm delivery style & she challenges individuals to help them reach their full potential. I would highly recommend Azesta to fulfil any learning & development needs.”

    | Vanessa Naldrett - Head of Learning, Summit

  • “I first met Shirley and Azesta on a training & development programme for business owners. I was so impressed by her performance that I have subsequently engaged Azesta for a series of projects in both of my companies & have recommended her to several other CEOs. The projects have ranged from vision development to employee engagement to motivation. Shirley has a calm but very focused & practical approach to her projects, is able to interact easily & effectively with people at all levels of the organisation & achieves excellent results. I highly recommend Azesta!”

    | Oliver Garside - CEO of Dakin Flathers

  • “Leeds Fed have worked with Shirley Gaston at Azesta for the last 10 years on a number of programmes. Our intention has been to help Leeds Feds leadership team understand themselves & each other better & in so doing explore ways to become a more effective team. Shirley’s informal style has suited us well, yet at the same time she has a knack of getting to the nub of the issue at hand. Our group discussions, with Shirley in a facilitative role, have always been particularly open & productive. I doubt we would have become the team we are today without her help.”

    | Matthew Walker - CEO, Leeds Federated Housing Association

  • “The balance between experiential outdoor activities & classroom-based learning ensured that participants were challenged to the extreme without ever losing sight of the fact that their own development was at the core of everything they did. Their growth as individuals & as a team over the course of three intensive days was evident.”

    | Denis Poole - Building Automation Solutions

  • “Shirley is the epitome of Professional… with a capital ‘P’!! She has a depth of learning & applied knowledge, an ease of knowledge transfer & fun engagement but with an individual attention to details… what more can be said? As a result of meeting Shirley, I aim to work with her again on schools projects where I can again benefit from her experience & positive attitude”

    | Ross McWilliam - CEO, MindsetPro

  • "There are not many people as generous or as warm hearted as Shirley nor that many who are as dedicated to the learning & development both of themselves & others. A true explorer in the world of training & somebody with whom I have often worked & always benefited from the experience."

    | Garry Platt - Learning & Development Specialist at EEF Ltd

  • “Shirley has an amazing ability to devise & deliver powerful learning experiences”

    | Larry Reynolds - Trainer & Writer

  • "It is rare to find anyone in training & development who really goes the extra mile for clients, focusing on delivering productive outcomes which make the time & investment really worthwhile. Shirley does this because for her it is the natural way to work. She has built a support team who backs her up in every area of client support which is often lacking. A wholehearted recommendation from me."

    | Nick Hindley - Lecturer, Tutor Assessor & Learning Development Consultant

  • “I've worked with azesta in developing our Apprenticeship approach since December 2017. Their collaborative approach has ensured we are delivering a leadership development programme that meets both the ILM & apprenticeship criteria but also ensures a corporate look & feel. The delivery approach is interactive & highly experiential bringing the learning to life. The additional support for our learners away from the classroom has facilitated a strong transfer of learning into the workplace. Importantly our learners are enjoying their experience”

    | Scott Acklam - Head of Learning & Development, Freemans Grattan Holdings

  • "Shirley is working with our company to improve employee engagement, & develop our teams leadership abilities. Her approach is excellent, & the results to date have been outstanding. Shirley has the ability to listen to your situation, & develop tailored programmes which challenge a groups current thinking, with well researched & presented arguments. She is very personable, & incredibly engaging - don't expect to sit at the back of the class & hide in one of Shirley's programmes. Shirley is excellent at getting the best out of any situation!!"

    | Gareth Frankland - Former CEO of ACDC Lighting

  • “The session Shirley facilitated really helped the group on both our individual learning needs, & also clarify how we can maximise the impact of coaching in the business. Her energy & enthusiasm made a real impact with everyone.”

    | Simon Barraclough - Group Learning and Talent Dev Partner. McBride

  • “The team-building activities are great fun & make you interact with each other. As a new member of the team at BNL it has certainly helped my integration in the company.”

    | NPD Manager - BNL UK Limited

  • “Great client-to-customer relationships, with a tailored approach within a tight framework. Experienced facilitators who demonstrate experiential learning at its best. Highly recommended provider.”

    | Scott Acklam - Head of Learning & Development, Freeman Grattan Holdings

  • "What a fabulous learning experience attending a Metalog tools demonstration day hosted by Shirley! Shirley brings the tools to life in such an entertaining & engaging way & is so generous in sharing tips from her deep experiential training experience. I cannot recommend Shirley's workshops highly enough. "

    | Stewart Brown - Stewart Brown Consulting

  • "Fantastic course. We came to Azesta as individuals & left thinking & working together as a team."

    | Jo Yarnall - Mamas & Papas

Below are some more fabulous testimonials if you’d like to take a look: