A warship supplier, a curry house a passenger transport authority, and an international life insurance provider are among ten UK organisations being lauded today for innovative workplace training.

The firms have been highlighted in a new good-practice guide to help employers work to improve staff skills and training, published jointly today by the Department for Business, CBI, TUC and Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS).

The guidance is based on specially commissioned research from Leeds University Business School, which looked at ten successful models of training dialogue that have increased participation and upskilling of each workforce.

The guidance is intended to inspire UK employers and workers to engage in effective two-way dialogue on training and skills, to assess staff training needs and consider how training can fill an organisation's skills gap.

John Cridland, the CBI's Deputy Director-General said:

"Ensuring employees see value in developing their skills and asking for their input on training needs is vital to getting the most out of companies' £39bn annual investment in staff development. The broad range of firms in this publication have taken involving their workforce seriously and have reaped the rewards, often through higher productivity or lower staff turnover.

The ten organisations highlighted in the publication as 'exemplars of good practice' are:

Cafe Spice Namaste in London,Kings Waterfront, Liverpool, Escrick Park Estate in Yorkshire, Merseytravel in Liverpool, Hydrasun in Aberdeen Newcastle City Council, The Ogilvy Group in London,Rolls Royce in Scotland, Scottish Provident International Life Assurance in the Isle of Man,  VT Shipbuilding in the South West. 

---