Patrick Tiley, M.A. (Oxon), has spent more than thirty years testing one idea: that training works best when it is built on evidence. This is the journey: from medical research at Oxford to the strategic direction of Keys Group.
Oxford · where it began1994 · into training2006 · Keys TrainingToday · Keys Group
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Oxford
Chapter one · Oriel College
A scientist first
Patrick’s career began not in a training room but in a laboratory. He read Biochemistry at Oriel College, Oxford, before moving into medical research at the University.
His proudest achievement from that period: being part of a research team involved in developing a cure for a genetic disease.
“It is this scientific background Patrick brings to Keys today, championing an evidence‑based approach to training and learning.” The method behind everything that follows
1994
Chapter two · An unlikely turn
Entering the training industry
Patrick’s journey into the training industry began in 1994, when he established a secretarial college. The rigour stayed the same; only the subject changed: from the science of the human body to the practical skills people use every working day.
It was the start of everything Keys would become.
1999
Chapter three · In the papers
Making national headlines
As the business grew, its success began to attract national attention. It was featured in The Daily Telegraph, and Patrick was invited onto BBC News to comment on the Chancellor’s Budget and what it would mean for employers across the region.
The clipping on the right has survived nearly three decades: Patrick, pictured in the Telegraph’s Business Monitor pages, January 1999, already talking about what training should do for the people who receive it.
“Small companies cannot afford to lose somebody they have spent a lot of money to train.” Patrick Tiley · Business Monitor, 18 January 1999
From the archive “Providing the features great and small”, Business Monitor, Monday 18 January 1999. Patrick Tiley, pictured right.
2006
Chapter four · Keys Training is born
One of the North West’s largest training providers
In 2006, Patrick developed the business into Keys Training, which grew to become one of the largest training providers in the North West, with offices established across the region.
A personal favourite
Of all the offices over the years, Patrick’s favourite was in Winckley Square, Preston, a city with particular significance for him, as the birthplace of his second son.
Thirty years later
Patrick Tiley, M.A. (Oxon)Director of Learning · Keys Group
Today
Chapter five · Keys Group
Evidence, thirty years on
More than 30 years after first entering the training industry, Patrick now oversees the strategic direction of Keys Group, which has supported more than 1,000 organisations across the UK.
His background, spanning scientific research, education and business, continues to shape how Keys works: practical training underpinned by evidence, and focused on making a measurable difference.
30+
Years in the training industry
1,000+
Organisations supported by Keys Group
M.A.
Biochemistry · Oriel College, Oxford
Training built on evidence: see what it can do for your team.
