About Us

Our History

Learn about the history of PETA, our vision, mission and values

PETA was founded in 1970 by Alex Zemenides who, at the time, was Managing Director of component manufacturing company Sealectro.

At the time, Zemenides felt there was a lack of training and development opportunities for his staff in the local area. Training that could be tailored to his staff and business, that met industry and commercial standards and that didn’t have to work around a rigid syllabus or programme.

Together with five other local businesses, he created the Portsmouth Engineering Training Association – PETA – that was based in Southsea, Portsmouth.

The combined vision of this group was to establish an organisation, controlled by local business, that would be free from external influences to concentrate on the training and development of people employed, or about to be employed, in industry and commerce.

As such, PETA was set up to be (and still is) a registered charity, directed by an executive council of leaders elected from our member base.

There are no shareholders at PETA, only stakeholders. We operate on a self-financing basis and are non-profit making, which means all our funds are reinvested into the services and training we deliver.

Whilst our heritage is in engineering, today, PETA offers over 200 courses and apprenticeship programmes in the most sought after professional, digital and technical skillsets – from management training to health and safety qualifications, IT skills and engineering.

Today, PETA is one of the largest and most respected training providers on the south coast and we will continue to build on this reputation, transforming careers and building the next generation of business leaders and technical experts.

Our Vision

To build the next generation of business leaders, technical experts and engineers that put training and career development at the forefront of business prosperity.

 

Our Mission

Our mission is to accelerate personal growth and bring business prosperity to every customer by providing quality training in the most sought-after skills and qualifications.

 

Our Values

Aspire

We whole-heartedly support our customers in their aspirations to grow by developing the skills they need to get there.

Learn

We always listen, learn and question the norm to create new best practices and encourage a lifelong passion for learning.

Apply

We champion the application of learning and its impact on business prosperity and personal growth.

Advance

We give local businesses and people a voice in how adult education and training should advance to best meet their personal and commercial needs.