Our People
Huw Lewis MBE
20th March 2018
Huw is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Motivational Preparation College for Training (MPCT).
Huw joined the Royal Welch Fusiliers at the age of 17 where he served in Northern Ireland, Berlin, Bosnia, Uzbekistan and Malawi. Huw completed his military career reaching the rank of Captain in the Royal Welsh.
After leaving the Army, Huw quickly became known for his passion and ability to relate to young people instilling motivation and determination in the youth of today to succeed and fulfil their ambitions. In 2001, Huw received an MBE for his work with young people.
MPCT has been hugely successful since its conception in 1999 and has been awarded the Investors in People Gold Award three times, the first organisation to achieve such status in the UK.
Through Huw’s persistent drive and commitment to help young people, MPCT has now trained over 20,000 Learners, aged 16 – 23 across both England and Wales. The company’s operation has expanded to 35 locations across the UK, employing over 153 full time staff.
In August 2014, MPCT was awarded the highest performance grade possible by Her Majesty’s Inspectorates OFSTED, achieving Grade 1 Outstanding across all areas. Huw’s leadership and management skills were recognised as outstanding where “senior leaders place their highest priority on supporting all Learners to succeed”.
Huw, along with his team, has helped enlist circa 3,000 young people into the Military and in 2018 entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Defense. MPCT received the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme Gold Award in 2019, in acknowledgement of MPCT’s commitment to providing outstanding second career opportunities to ex-service personnel.
Huw and his team have worked extremely hard to make MPCT the best place to work and these efforts have been recognised as MPCT ranked in the Sunday Times Top 100 Best Small Companies to Work For in 2017. Alongside this, MPCT was awarded 3-Star Accreditation status from engagement specialists Best Companies, which represents extraordinary levels of engagement. Huw was also awarded Wales Director of the Year 2017 by the Institute of Directors. In 2017 MPCT was named as the TES “Training Provider of the Year” – this is one of the most prestigious awards a training provider can receive. Whilst working at MPCT is rewarding, engaging and positively challenging for staff, it is equally rewarding for all of the young people who attend the College.
In May 2019, MPCT was awarded the highest standard Platinum of the Investors In People accreditation (IIP), a standard held by just 70 companies or 1% of the 8,300 UK firms with some form of the IIP accreditation.
Hailed from Gwynedd, in North Wales, where he was born in 1968, Huw now lives in Monmouth. Huw is a passionate cyclist and hillwalker as well as a keen runner, having completed many marathons over the years. In 2017, Huw took on the challenge of completing one of the toughest foot races known to man – the Marathon des Sables. The marathon consisted of six marathons in seven days, carrying all of his own kit and equipment across the Sahara Desert. Huw, together with MPCT Senior Director, Brian Edwards, raised £11,705 for the Motivation and Learning Trust and will be taking part again in 2020 to raise additional funds for the Charity, which supports, develops and enhances life opportunities for MPCT Learners’ past, present and future.
Huw also loves to spend his spare time with his partner Mel and son Charlie, aged 9 and is an enthusiastic rugby coach for the Monmouth Under 9’s rugby team.