AI Consultant · Greater Manchester and the North West

AI Training alone is not enough.
Your business requires three pieces of
the puzzle. Nobody is mentioning the other two.
AI Training alone is not enough. Your business requires three pieces of the puzzle. Nobody is mentioning the other two.

Book a free intro call

30 minutes with a CPD accredited AI trainer.
25 years’ business experience in risk management and regulation.

Working with both professional services and blue-collar sectors, including case management, conveyancers, estate agents, car garages and plumbers, across Greater Manchester and the North West.

5★ Google Rated
2.0 → 4.3 AI knowledge score in one session
+64 NPS from training attendees
CPD Certified

WHAT PEOPLE SAY ABOUT SAFER HAVEN AI

Testimonial from James B

Vital Training which Opened My Eyes

"I knew the basics of AI and was fearful of what it mean't for the future! I reached out to Darren via Linkedin and what he delivered blew my mind."

JB
James Barret
CEO - Nutrition Industry
Heather Murray

You have something real here

"Your psychotherapy-informed approach is genuinely special. The client experience is outstanding. You have something real here."

HM
Heather Murray
CEO - AI For Non-Techies
Sue Brown

Pitched at the right level.

"Darren created bespoke AI training that perfectly matched what we needed. He engaged the team quickly and kept them focused throughout. Very positive feedback from the rest of my team. I would absolutely recommend him."

SB
Sue Brown
Director, Browns Case Management

Three pillars. Here is what each one gives you back.

01 · AI Enablement

Safe, balanced AI Adoption throughout your team.

Half your team is frightened of it. The other half are already using it in secret.

  • The right tools for the specific role, across Copilot, Claude, ChatGPT and Gemini
  • Built on change management and psychology rather than tool tutorials
  • A psychologically safe room where both halves of your team can meet in the middle
Explore AI Enablement →
02 · AI Risk & Compliance

Protection from AI Risk to the business.

So important, it is the part a client, regulator or insurer asks you about first.

  • Risk assessed against your actual workflows, not a generic checklist
  • UK GDPR, data protection and the EU AI Act, explained in plain English
  • Hallucination, bias, citation failures, and what governance realistically looks like
Explore AI Risk & Compliance →
03 · The Human Risk of AI

Your people keep their judgement.

Barely discussed anywhere. It is the one that concerns me most.

  • What prolonged AI use does to judgement, confidence and burnout
  • How teams slide into cognitive surrender without ever noticing
  • Practical ways to keep your people thinking, before the habits set
Explore The Human Risk of AI →

Start with one. Most organisations end up needing all three.

AI regulation is here. This is what it costs to get it wrong.

71%

Using AI you never approved

Your team is already using tools you have not sanctioned. That is a data breach waiting to happen.

79%

Feel exposed using AI at work

The EU AI Act makes staff training mandatory. The UK will follow. Most organisations are not ready.

35,000,000

The ceiling for getting it badly wrong

The EU AI Act's highest fines, up to €35m or 7% of global turnover, are reserved for prohibited AI practices. Everyday misuse sits far below that ceiling, but it is the same law, and knowing where your firm stands on it is the whole point of an assessment.

£17,500,000

The fine is rarely the worst part

The ICO can fine up to £17.5m or 4% of global turnover for the most serious UK GDPR breaches. For most firms the real damage is smaller and closer to home: the client who leaves, the insurer who asks questions, the reputation that took years to build.

The question that decides it

If a key client asked you today how their data is handled when your team uses AI, where it goes and what protections are in place…

What would you tell them?

We are not here to sell you AI.

That decision has already been made for you by the market, your competitors and your own team. We make sure your team is enabled, your business is protected and your people retain their judgement.

What working with us looks like

From our first conversation, to safe measurable ROI.

01 The Conversation

We listen to understand.

No-pressure, no judgement, no prep required. Just a conversation to understand where you are and exactly what you need.

It costs nothing.
02 AI Risk Assessment

We map your world where it meets AI.

Your sector, your team, your regulatory obligations. Nothing generic, nothing off the shelf. Organisations that skip this step are a far greater risk. We cover all bases for you.

03 Psychological Safety

We meet you where you are.

Anxious or overconfident with AI, both carry risk. Our SAFER framework brings psychological safety into the room.

The result: a balanced AI adoption programme.
04 Measurable ROI

We build on your workflows.

Real workflows, real AI use cases, all combining to generate measurable ROI in time banked, efficiencies and staff morale.

SME (10 people · 3 hrs/week) £366.30/wk
Enterprise (1,000 people · 3 hrs/week) £36,630/wk

Calculated at UK minimum wage. Your actual saving will be higher. That compounds.

05 AI Governance

AI is new. AI moves quick.

We align you to an appropriate AI governance framework, then collaborate on the policies, rules, responsibilities and guardrails that keep you protected.

06 Ongoing Partnership

We observe. We advise.

We watch the regulatory horizon so you can focus on what you do best, your business. AI is the fastest growing technology we have ever seen. It’s impossible to run a business and keep up.

We made keeping up our business, so you don’t have to.

Still not sure?
Read a case study, check your risk or work out what it is worth.

Three ways to see this for yourself, without speaking to anybody.

Done For You

Did you know, alongside our AI Enablement, AI Risk & Compliance and The Human Risk of AI services, we also offer done-for-you work: powerful automations, AI-powered websites and apps built specifically for your business? See Web Design and Apps →

Darren Sharples - CEO & Lead AI Trainer
Meet your AI Consultant & Trainer

Darren Sharples

Founder
Lead AI Trainer, Safer Haven AI

Darren Sharples combines 25 years of C-suite leadership with formal therapeutic training, as a BACP student member now in his 4th and final year of psychotherapy study. That combination is not a coincidence. It is the reason this works. Most AI rollouts fail because of the people, not the technology, and he understands both sides of that equation with equal depth.

Executive leadership and therapy-informed practice make for a learning environment that is commercially astute, psychologically safe, and a genuine turning point in how participants think about AI.

Who you actually get

I deliver every engagement personally. That is the point: you get the person you met on the intro call, not an associate you have never spoken to. Where a piece of work genuinely needs a formal ISO 42001 certification, a data protection officer, legal sign-off, I can bring in a named associate from my vetted network and tell you who and why beforehand. Nothing is handed off quietly.

Full Enhanced DBS Holder
CPD Accredited AI Educator
Safer Haven Podcast Host (Coming Soon)
"For some people AI is exciting. For others, it's terrifying. My passion is helping real people and organisations feel supported as they face the challenges surrounding AI adoption."
AI Experience
  • Reduced departmental production costs by 90%, cutting processes from days to hours, with zero job losses.
  • Trained many people on AI tools.
  • Demonstrated role specific AI workflows.
  • AI risk management & governance pillars.
  • Experience working with Human Risk in AI.
  • Website Design & App Development.

Due diligence is not hesitation.
It is good practice.

A 30-minute conversation is not a commitment to anything except clarity. We will look at where your organisation actually stands, what is worth addressing now, and what can wait.

If it is not the right time, I will tell you that honestly.

When you are ready, the conversation is here.

Darren Sharples

You'll be speaking with Darren

Founder - AI Consultant / Trainer

"If AI feels daunting right now, that’s completely normal, this conversation is simply a place to talk it through, without judgement."

Book an introduction or Take the free 5-minute risk check Free. Confidential. Know where you stand today.

Frequently Asked Questions

Everything you need to know about our AI training services.
Can't find what you're looking for? Get in touch via

That concern comes up a lot.

Our focus is helping teams understand how AI can support their work rather than threaten it, so people feel confident using it responsibly and productively.

Most training providers focus on tools and tech. We focus on your people first, then the tools and then the risk.

The logic behind this is simple: it is impossible to learn when anxious about the subject material. The tools are brilliant and we are happy to show them to you but, in the wrong hands, because of the risks involved they can be dangerous to your business.

We give a very balanced overview of the AI landscape so that your organisation can make informed decisions to protect it and watch it thrive using AI.

Usually quite quickly.

You can check my real-time availability through the button below and book a discovery call at a time that suits you.

From there, we can normally schedule training within a few weeks depending on your team’s availability and specific needs.

The first step is a simple conversation.

No. Our training is designed specifically for people who aren’t technical.

We focus on practical, everyday ways teams can use AI safely and confidently in their roles without needing a technical background.

Either a full day extensive training session, or a 2.5 hour fundamentals session that builds into the full modular programme, whichever fits your team’s schedule.

The session is designed for up to 50 attendees to enable the practical elements to produce the results and standards we set of ourselves.

The session includes AI fundamentals, team safety via our SAFER framework, practical exercises based around your job role specifics and AI risk.

Not at all.

Many organisations come to us before any formal policy exists. Part of our work is helping you understand what responsible AI use should look like for your organisation.

Ideally we want to deliver this training in person as it’s designed to be a high-energy workshop where individuals feed off that and gain in confidence.

We understand that this is not always possible and will bring the high energy to the screen via Teams if this suits your team better.

We encourage you to read the case study on the homepage, these are typical results after a single session with Safer Haven AI.

Over time as we continue to work with you, the efficiencies compound. Organisations that formally train teams have far better adoption and safety metrics than those that do not.

Industry studies say productivity gains of 30%–40% are very much in scope within weeks.

AI safety and governance are core to our training. We teach clear safety boundaries, data protection best practices, and when NOT to use AI.

Security is embedded in everything we teach.

Yes of course we can.

As standard we map your workflows, bottlenecks and regulations to the training we deliver, however we understand you may have very specific bespoke requirements.

Raise it on the intro call. Darren shapes the programme himself, and if your requirement needs a named specialist alongside him he will tell you that on the same call rather than after you have signed.

Still have questions?

Book an introduction
We told you AI could take your business. We showed you exactly how we stop that from happening. Now there is only one thing left to do.
Book an introduction Pick a date. Pick a time. That is it.