TWO of this year’s 207 UK finalists for the National Training Awards are from Kent.

Abbott Laboratories in Queenborough near Sheerness and P&O Ferries in Dover are among 26 South East companies and organisations whose training success has won them a place in the finals.

The National Training Awards, run by UK Skills on behalf of the Department for Education and Skills, were first held in 1986 and are awarded to those who have achieved lasting success through exceptionally effective training.

Congratulating the finalists, Kathryn Cook, chair of the South East judging panel, acknowledged the important contribution their training has made to the region.

"The South East finalists have delivered high quality and highly effective training which is making a real difference to the region’s performance," she said.

"Organisations have used training to successfully introduce new products and business practices, to develop staff management skills and to improve customer service while individual finalists have shown that their learning journeys have not just benefited themselves but also their communities and organisations."

And UK Skills’ chief executive, Jacqui Henderson, also congratulated the finalists, saying they were proof that investing in training pays dividends.

"Many finalists have seen business productivity boosted and staff turnover reduced," she said.

"Others have discovered that training increases personal satisfaction and career progression. We need more people making training a priority to ensure the necessary knowledge and skills are in place to secure economic success for the region."

The winners will be announced at a series of regional ceremonies throughout the country in October and November culminating in a UK gala ceremony for the winners on December 14 at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London.

Kent finalists:

Abbott Laboratories, which entered under the title Organisational Improvement, employs around 700 people who are involved in the manufacture and packaging of solid dosage form pharmaceuticals, liquids and inhalation anaesthetics and more than 80 per cent of their output is exported.

"There were several areas in the manufacturing process where we could make improvements in overall production," said Abbott’s training and development manager, Gail Traynor.

"The new programme has meant that, as well as being able to competently carry out routine jobs, our staff can also spot wasteful and non-value-added activities and become more involved when changes were being implemented."

Abbott Laboratories’ training programme – run both on and off-site – has resulted in a dramatic improvement in operational efficiency.

At P&O Ferries, whose entry title was Customer Focused Sales Training Programme, a desktop training programme for call centre staff has resulted in increased revenue of £8million a year for the cross-Channel ferry operators.

"Staff consistently provide a high standard of customers service and have good communications skills," said contact centre head, Barbara Ratcliff.

"But they were not actively selling our services. We were missing opportunities to offer customers additional products and we were losing bookings by allowing customers to shop around."