Join hundreds of workplaces on 14 May and show commitment to learning

Hundreds of workplaces around the country are making a public commitment to learning and skills for this yearís Learning at Work Day (14 May). The Campaign for Learning, the organisers of the Day, is hoping that even more businesses will take part and join organisations including Flybe, WHSmith, The Royal Bolton Hospital, Epic, London South Bank University and CSC Computer Services Ltd.

Workplaces are undertaking a range of activities to mark the Day such as:

- taster and short sessions on a range of topics including leadership, languages, wellbeing and IT

- special seminars to learn from other businesses

- promoting Skills for Life including online mini tests for English and maths

- exhibitions to highlight courses and learning opportunities

Special activities that have been organised by the Campaign for Learning for the Day include:

- the Skills Shorts Competition – a national competition to find the most entertaining short film about learning in the workplace

- Hands On Skills Challenge – take one or more of 5 mini-challenges to improve your skills (launching soon)

The Learning at Work Day website www.learningatworkday.com has lots of activity ideas that can be organised quickly and with low cost. This yearís campaign is particularly encouraging organisations to support Skills for Life (English and maths) learning, and highlight the support that is available for individuals to brush up on their skills through Get On.

Tricia Hartley, chief executive of the Campaign for Learning explains, ëLearning at Work Day is about highlighting the benefits that investment in learning and skills have for both business and employees. We are delighted that so many organisations are taking part this year given the challenging economic circumstances, but believe this reflects the understanding of the important contribution that learning and skills have in achieving business objectives. We hope even more organisations will use Learning at Work Day as an opportunity to promote their own commitment to developing talent in their workplace, as well as take advantage of the range of support that is available for learning and skills including Train to Gain and Get On.í

Examples of organisations taking part in Learning at Work Day 2009:

Epic, a provider of award winning e-learning and blended learning solutions, will be joining forces with leading academics at Oxford University to upskill its workforce on Learning at Work Day. Epic staff, including learning designers, software developers and consultants, and Oxford University's leading experts in education will come together for a special seminar to discuss and debate how technology can be best deployed for future learning.

Jonathan Satchell, Epic's CEO said, 'The seminar on Learning at Work Day marks the start of a very exciting relationship between business and academia, offering new insights and opportunities to move thinking forward for both Epic and Oxford University. I believe it is these kind of creative ideas and innovative ways of working that are going to be essential to Epic in maintaining its competitive advantage in challenging times, and to the recovery of the wider UK economy going forward.'


Flybe, Europe's largest and most successful regional airline is an innovator in the field of workplace learning, becoming the first of only three UK employers to be granted Awarding Body status. The company has developed employer training programmes supported by GoSkills and forged solid partnerships with Exeter College and the University of Exeter to deliver its workplace learning programmes which include the Aviation Operations in the Air Level 2 NVQ - a recognised national/international qualification and a world first. In September last year 33 students were the first to undertake Flybe's Engineering Apprenticeship and over 20 Call Centre staff have started work-related NVQs. For this year's Learning at Work Day, Flybe's Training Centre in Exeter will be offering employees the opportunity to develop new and transferable skills through a series of 45-minute taster sessions on topics such as IT, Telephone Techniques and Teamwork.

Simon Witts, Director of Safety, Quality and Training for Flybe says ëFlybe is a complex organisation requiring a wide variety of expertise and we pride ourselves in taking a training lead within the industry. In continuing to develop and thrive as a business, Learning at Work Day provides companies with the perfect and necessary focus with which to highlight the many opportunities we can offer those members of staff wanting to upgrade or learn new skills. We've had a fantastic response to the short workshops we will be offering and we look forward to sharing our success stories in the hope that they will excite and encourage every single company to take part in future years.í

Hounslow Homes, which manages over 16,500 homes for the London Borough of Hounslow, is offering a range of taster learning sessions for Learning at Work Day in partnership with Hounslow Adult Education. The session topics include healthy lifestyles, taking digital photos, reflexology and make-up & skincare.

Manjit Sehmi, Organisational Development Manager at Hounslow Homes said, 'Learning at Work Day offers a chance to try out something new and learn something that will have benefits for worklife and at home, as well as inspire employees to take up other learning opportunities.'


London South Bank Universities Staff Development Unit, which already offers an extensive programme of development opportunities to 1,800 teaching and support staff, is expanding Learning at Work Day to a whole week offering activity sessions including Hello Brain', 'African Head Wrapping', 'Are You Sitting Comfortably?' delivered by the British School of Osteopathy and Digital Story Telling, a technique which helps people to express ideas.

Carol Tavernier, Project Planning Officer at LSBU said, ëWe see this as an opportunity for staff to meet colleagues from other areas, engage in learning, experience something new and take time out to learn and have fun at the same time which is what learning should be about.'

The Royal Bolton Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is encouraging staff to get a taste of learning for its Learning at Work Day. The hospital, which is in Greater Manchester and has over 4,000 staff, is putting on a range of taster sessions and topics such as literacy and numeracy, digital photography and hand and neck massage. They will also be launching the staff book club as part of the day.

Sarah Atcha, Learning Advisor Coordinator at The Royal Bolton Hospital said, ëThis is an annual event where we encourage staff to get involved and explore learning something new in a fun way. As an organisation we support a culture of lifelong learning and promote a variety of development opportunities for staff at all levels, which not only enhances personal development but also improves the quality of patient care.í

Toshiba Information Systems (UK) Ltd in Plymouth will be focusing on learning and languages for Learning at Work Day 2009. Activities on offer include taster sessions on sign language, Holiday Spanish, Italian and Greek as well as information stands on evening classes that employees can sign up for. Short courses in popular foreign languages will be made available at the factory after hours for interested staff.

Nicki Parker, Learning and Development Advisor at Toshiba Information Systems said, 'It is really important to show that coming to work involves more than work - we have seen that people who actively learn and look to progress their personal and professional interests are generally better prepared to face change proactively. More importantly, it's vital that employees see that learning is fun and has moved on from the formal school classroom experience many remember. Involving them in a range of activities on Learning at Work Day is a great opportunity to show this.'

WHSmith
WHSmith, which is made up of over 560 High Street stores and over 460 Travel units in airports, rail stations, hospitals and motorway service stations, is to hold a week of learning activities for all employees to celebrate Learning at Work Day. From 11-15 May there will be over 30 master classes run by business experts across both its Swindon and London Head Offices on topics such as Leadership, Understanding the City, Managing Your Own Personal Success, and Retailing our Shops. The event is being supported by The Wiltshire Wildlife Trust, Energy Savings Trust, The Open University and Quantum Coaching who will also be running master classes. WHSmith suppliers are providing product training for store teams in the larger stores on the features and benefits of their products to increase staff product knowledge.

There will be lunchtime learning voice conferences with internal experts for all store management teams, covering areas such as Driving Profitability in Store and Being a Successful Manager.

There is a dedicated intranet site, which is accessible for all employees, featuring different learning resources each day, including blogs about peopleís roles around the business and learning handouts. The event builds on the comprehensive learning and development programme that runs throughout the year across the business.

Debbie Emery, Learning & Development Advisor, said: ëIt is a fantastic opportunity to raise the profile of learning and development within the organisation and create a passion and energy for learning. It gives individuals the opportunity to gain experience outside their normal sphere and increase their skill-set, leading to increased performance, retention and internal succession.í

Learning at Work Day has also gone international:

CSC Computer Sciences Ltd is running Learning at Work Day at its offices in the UK and around the globe. UK locations include Chesterfield, Aldershot, Solihull, Chorley and Preston. Global locations include Beijing and Shanghai in China; Bangalore, Mumbai and Indore in India; Virginia in the US; as well as offices in Malaysia, Japan, Singapore and Australia.