AWARDS

CompTIA UK & Ireland Awards

We were absolutely thrilled to receive the CompTIA UK&I Solution Provider Spotlight Award for demonstrating leadership, excellence and innovation as an organisation and in service to our clients. CompTIA are the global trade association for the information technology (IT) industry and workforce and the award was judged by CompTIA members across Europe.

Network Group Awards

During an exciting night in Leeds at the Network Group Annual Awards, our Operations Director, Chris Morrell, was the winner of the ‘Member Contribution to Group’ category. Network Group (NG) are a nationwide organisation of forward-thinking IT service providers who work together as a community to continually improve each other’s businesses and the industry as a whole. We’re delighted that Chris has received this recognition for his tireless contribution to helping the NG community deliver exceptional IT services!

SME Surrey Business Awards

We had an amazing evening at the SME Surrey Business Awards recently and were really delighted to win ‘Employer of the Year’ award. This means a lot as the criteria to win was ‘how we look after our people so they take care of our business’. It’s hard work but we must be doing something right – thank you!

Pro Drive IT win Employer of the Year SME Surrey Business Awards
SME Surrey Business Awards Employer of the Year

COLLABORATING WITH OUR CLIENTS

Pro Drive supports The Lighthouse Woking

The Lighthouse Woking

With the help of our clients, Pro Drive supports local charity The Lighthouse Woking, which runs a hub that helps Ukrainian refugees amongst other projects. We were invited to join them at a charity lunch on pancake day, which was an informal and lovely community get together. Our Service Desk Manager, Ivan Dos Santos, was proud to represent us there and also on 24 February at a gathering in Woking in support of Ukraine to mark the one-year anniversary of the war.

Our Laptop Refurbishment Initiative

Our wonderful clients have been donating their old and unwanted laptops to be refurbished and redistributed as part of our laptop refurbishment initiative. We’ve recently opened up this scheme to the public too.

Local recipients include schools, Oakleaf Enterprise (a mental health charity), Challengers (a charity that supports play for disabled children and young people) and Ukrainian refugees. You can get involved too – for details:

David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation

It’s World Wildlife Day on 3rd March and our client, David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation, is asking supporters to host their own wildlife-themed fundraising activity on that day. All you need to do it is here. Also, artists! Don’t forget to enter the DSWF Wildlife Artist of the Year competition – it closes on 29th March.

WORKING WITH SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES

We love having students here from our local schools and colleges for work experience. Recently, they’ve included those from Woking College, Broadwater School, Farnborough Tech and Spark.

‘This was my first experience working in an office, and it was really useful because I could see how I would fit into the workplace. The team were very helpful, showing me how to apply the skills I’ve learnt’.

JF, Farnborough Tech

... and we enjoy going into local schools and colleges to talk to students about all aspects of IT Support and cyber security. Recently our MD, Bruce Penson, was delighted to be invited to Woking College.

Bruce delivered an informative talk on cyber security to both our GCSE & BTEC level 3 students. They were given insights into trends in business, how cyber-attacks start, Cyber Essentials, cyber security governance and cyber security tools. Then they had the opportunity to answer questions and ‘pick Bruce’s brain’ on how to protect themselves from cyber security attacks. Feedback from the students was overwhelmingly positive, with 98% stating that it had enhanced their knowledge, progression in courses and future career plans.

Christine Jelly, Assistant Head of IT Department, Woking College

SPONSORSHIPS AND EVENTS

We had a great time at the Oakleaf Quiz Night on 31 March, with all funds raised going to support people managing mental ill-health in Surrey. We didn't win but all the more reason to be back next year! Thank you Oakleaf.

Dan Sheather wins Kellys Cycle Challenge for Challengers.

At Pro Drive IT we recently enjoyed participating in the Kelly's Cycle Challenge, a charity cycling event hosted by Kelly's Storage, with all funds going to Challengers,  in support of disabled children and young adults. We are proud to announce that our very own Project Engineer, Dan Sheather (pictured on the left in the Lycra), emerged victorious in the thrilling 23-mile  race. Out of 70 participants Dan secured an impressive 1st place , completing the 23-mile course from Alice Holt to RAF Odiham and back with a great time of 1:32:51. If you wish to contribute and make a difference, kindly consider donating to Challengers through their donation page.

We’ll bring you further updates on what the Pro Drive IT team have been up to in the community soon ...

Watch this space!