Silver medal for Welshpool company

10/08/2012 @ 08:14

A Welshpool based training company has been celebrating its own silver award during the Olympics fortnight.

At a time when Olympic medal winners have dominated the headlines, one of Wales’ leading work-based learning providers has been celebrating too.

Cambrian Training Company, based at Welshpool, is now recognised in the top one per cent of Investors in People companies in the UK after achieving the silver award. Only 45 Welsh companies have achieved the silver award, of which 18 are involved in the training and education sector.

The IIP silver award is granted to companies that invest and identify ways of raising their organisation’s performance to the highest level. It recognises excellence in the firm's management effectiveness and other areas including the involvement and empowerment of employees and the active support of their personal and professional development.

To achieve the base standard, a company must meet 39 criteria in the improvement of employee management. To achieve silver accreditation the company achieved an additional 85 criteria.

Cambrian Training Company, which has 36 employees, has won a string of national awards in recent years for the delivery of learning programmes, including the National Training Award for Wales.

The company works in the hospitality, food manufacturing, environmental conservation, customer service, retail, business administration, team leading and health and social care sectors.

“As a company we committed at the beginning of the year to achieving the silver award as one of our major goals for 2012 to provide a further benchmark of the high standards that we set within the business,” said managing director Arwyn Watkins.

“We are delighted to have achieved this goal, despite a significant reduction in our work based learning contracts from the Welsh Government. Our next target is the gold award in 2015.”

In his report, IIP assessor Neil Huxtable notes that the company is particularly effective at business planning, prioritising and satisfying learning and development needs, staff involvement, empowerment and recognition.

“The mission, vision, values and strategy document created by staff is a good example of staff involvement and empowerment in taking strategic decisions which impact the business as a whole,” he reported.

“Achieving silver additional recognition shows that the company is forward thinking in cascading best practice throughout the organisation and that it demonstrates a progressive approach to business improvement through people.”

Cambrian Training Companies, which has offices in Welshpool, Holyhead, Aberaeron and Brecon, was first recognised by Investors in People in 2003 and has held the IIP Leadership and Management award since 2009.

The company’s success has been built on strong relationships with employers and apprentices and a willingness to provide flexible training solutions to businesses of all sizes, including Stena Line, Castell Howell Foods, Dunbia, Ventura, S.A. Brains and the Lake Vyrnwy Hotel, Llanwddyn.

Picture captions:

Celebrating the Investors in People silver aware are Cambrian Training Company employees (from left) Elizabeth Devine, Lucy Lewis, Catherine Watkin, Ceri Morgan, Leanne Lloyd and Joyce Godsell.