The achievement is all the more significant because, of the thousands of companies who have been accredited by the LPI since the programme's launch in 1995, only four others have reached this milestone.

LPI accreditation for learning providers independently evaluates and endorses a provider's ongoing commitment to outstanding customer care, integrity, and operational efficiency. A recognised standard in the industry today, the programme employs a highly robust framework developed over many years by industry experts and validated by data from thousands of organisations to measure, benchmark, and improve learning capabilities.

Commenting on the achievements, Colin Steed, Chief Executive, LPI, said, "Attaining accreditation is not easy; the standards are extremely high. Maintaining accreditation is even harder, as the programme's aim is to ensure continual improvement and not to simply reach a static benchmark. This unique approach ensures that, year after year, accredited companies can evidence a significant raising of standards. Achieving seventeen years of accreditation means that SAS Education can look back on how they have developed during those years with a great deal of pride."

Myles Hannon, Head of Education, SAS Institute, commented, "Consistently achieving high quality is at the heart of everything we strive to accomplish at SAS Education, as we support our customers to develop the next generation of analytical talent. There is still a major skills gap in the workplace, and research we conducted with The Tech Partnership showed that demand for big-data specialists is forecast to increase by 160 per cent between 2013 and 2020, adding 346,000 big-data jobs. We began our journey with the LPI more than seventeen years ago, and our initial motivation was to receive this significant accreditation. Our focus remains the same today as it was back then."