VPS Wins Four Brandon Hall Group™ HCM Excellence Awards®, Highlighting Transformational Rigging Safety Partnership with DTE Energy
VPS secures 3 Gold and 1 Silver award for replacing traditional classroom bottlenecks with mobile, hands-on training labs that bring real-world safety evaluations directly to field teams across Michigan.
Awarded: Three Gold and one Silver
Recognition: 2026 Brandon Hall Group™ HCM Excellence Awards®
Recognition: 2026 Brandon Hall Group™ HCM Excellence Awards®
VPS receives three Gold and one Silver 2026 Brandon Hall Group™ HCM Excellence Awards®.
To support DTE Energy’s updated Corporate Safety Standard: Lifting & Supporting Loads across thousands of employees, VPS partnered with DTE to reimagine how technical safety training is delivered in the field. Facing strict safety mandates and a tight compliance timeline across distributed sites, the team engineered a blended-learning model that shifted classroom lectures to self-paced digital modules and introduced mobile training trailers equipped with custom gantry systems and digital crane scales.Instead of requiring workers to travel to a central facility, the mobile labs bring standardized, hands-on practical evaluations directly to local service centers, power plants, and field sites. In its first year, more than 1,400 employees across 42 locations completed training in the mobile trailer, practicing real-world hitch configurations and load calculations in a safe, controlled environment.
The transformed learning program produced immediate operational results:
640%
Increase in certifications
Replaced 4-hour in-person classroom recertifications with 1-hour digital modules, driving recertifications from 128 to 947 within nine months.
380%
Increase in trainee throughput
Scaled overall employee training volume from 177 to 851 workers, expanding concurrent session delivery sixfold.
33%
Reduction in initial time-to-proficiency
Streamlined initial training from 12 hours to 8 hours without sacrificing hands-on rigor, yielding over $340,000 in student loaded-cost savings.
4.92/5
High Field Engagement
Learner satisfaction rose to 4.92 out of 5.0, with field personnel praising the practical, job-relevant mobile lab simulations.
“There are things you can talk about in a classroom, but once people get out there and actually do it, that’s when it really sinks in,” said Tony Battle, Manager of Learning and Technical Development at DTE Energy. “It’s practical, it’s scalable, it’s safe and people are getting real value from it.”
“Our partnership with DTE Energy demonstrates what happens when best-in-class instructional design directly links to business outcomes and builds critical capabilities,” said Jennifer Lengyel, Manager – Technical Training at VPS. “By removing geographic and scheduling challenges, keeping safety standards absolute, and addressing the complexities of technical roles, we helped our partner accelerate significant operational savings.”
“Every year, the HCM Excellence Awards® remind us that innovation is ultimately about impact,” said Rachel Cooke, COO of Brandon Hall Group™ and HCM Excellence Awards® Program Leader. “The organizations recognized this year have demonstrated that great HR and learning strategies don’t just improve programs, they strengthen organizations, empower people and deliver measurable business results. We are honored to celebrate their achievements.”
For more information about VPS and its workforce training solutions, visit https://vpslearning.com/.
About VPS
VPS supports the science and business of learning. Serving commercial, government, defense, and regional market leaders, VPS delivers scalable talent transformation and workforce solutions designed to empower teams to Perform Beyond expectations. Combining human expertise with enterprise learning technology, AI-enabled solutioning, and operational readiness, VPS aligns workforce capabilities directly with operational strategy to drive measurable ROI. Capabilities span performance analytics, learning strategy, technical skills transformation, custom curriculum design, delivery, and training administration. As a wholly owned subsidiary of V2X (NYSE: VVX), VPS supports learners across global, national, and local footprints in 28 languages, helping organizations transform workforce training into operational capability.
About DTE Energy
DTE Energy (NYSE: DTE) is a Detroit-based diversified energy company involved in the development and management of energy-related businesses and services nationwide. Its operating units include an electric company serving 2.3 million customers in Southeast Michigan and a natural gas company serving 1.3 million customers in Michigan. The DTE portfolio includes energy businesses focused on power and industrial projects, renewable energy development, and energy trading.
About Brandon Hall Group™
Brandon Hall Group is the only professional development company that offers data, research, insights, and certification to Learning and Talent executives and organizations. For more than 30 years, it has influenced the development of over 10,000 clients globally. The HCM Excellence Awards® program recognizes organizations that have successfully developed and deployed programs, strategies, and solutions that deliver measurable business results.