Blueprint Training Solutions scoops BII NITA accolade

05 Mar 10

Blueprint Training Solutions (the in-house training division of Scottish security company SecuriGroup) has picked up the top prize in the Security Training category of the 2009 BII NITAs.

By Brian Sims

The British Institute of Innkeeping (BII) has just announced the winners of these prestigious awards, which serve as the annual National Training Awards for the licensed retail industry and recognise and reward training excellence.

The ultimate recognition of training excellence within the licensed retail industry, the BII NITAs attract a huge following and entries are received from all sectors of the industry – restaurant groups, pub companies, breweries, supermarkets, convenience stores, colleges, training companies and individual licensees.

For its part, Blueprint has engaged a number of ‘return to work’ charities, and vigorously promoted the BIIAB National Certificate for Door Supervisors (Scotland) (NCDS) as an opportunity to transform the futures of clients.

Blueprint has also demonstrated a firm commitment to helping candidates with disabilities, and those with complex barriers to employment.

Creating the right environment

Speaking after the awards results were announced at the BII Awarding Body Conference in Coventry, Russel Kerr, managing director of Edinburgh-based SecuriGroup, said: “We create the right environment to boost the confidence and self esteem of candidates who rarely possess formal qualifications. The NCDS is a worthwhile vocational award, and a prerequisite for a Security Industry Authority licence to practice.”

Kerr continued: “The BII NITA accolade recognises our continued goal of setting and improving standards within the private security industry. Our staff work hard to develop and deliver cutting-edge security training packages to equip personnel with the skills and confidence to excel.”

BII director of marketing Sue Medhurst commented: “Each NITA award goes to the entry which demonstrates training excellence and the effective use of resources to achieve measurable results. As with all winning entries, Blueprint Training’s excellent programme would stand benchmarking outside of the industry, and demonstrates Best Practice for the licensed retail sector as a whole.”

Raising the standards of training

The NITAs are an important mechanism to raise the standards of training across the licensed retail sector, and are a tool for companies to benchmark the effectiveness of their training against others in the sector.

All shortlisted entrants receive feedback from the judges, enabling them to improve their training offering even further in the future.

Judges will now select an overall winner to receive the 2009 Supreme Award, which will be announced and presented at the BII’s Annual Luncheon on Tuesday 11 May.

The ‘Security Training’ category was sponsored by sponsored by the BIIAB and City & Guilds.

Full List of Winners

Licensee Induction Programme Award (sponsored by Barcare from The Bateman Group)

Mitchells & Butlers, Birmingham

Licensee Trainer of the Year Award (sponsored by Matthew Clark)

No overall winner

Innovation in Training Award (sponsored by the Charles Wells Pub Company)

Enterprise Inns, Solihull

Social Responsibilities Award (sponsored by J D Wetherspoon)

Punch Taverns, Burton-upon-Trent

Best Industry Training Initiative to Support Professionalism (sponsored by Enterprise Inns)

EDU Plus CIC, Banbury

Professional Trainer of the Year Award (sponsored by the Greene King Pub Company)

Independent trainer: David Hawbrook FBII, abv Training, Stone

Corporate Trainer: Caroline Bowes, Hilton Hotels, Leeds

Security Training Award (sponsored by BIIAB and City & Guilds)

Blueprint Training, Edinburgh

All you need to know about… the BII

A registered charity, the BII is the professional body for the licensed retail sector. Its members are tenants, lessees, managers and freeholders of outlets licensed to sell alcohol for consumption both on and off the premises, plus many individuals and companies which support the industry in a variety of ways.

It also has 53 corporate patrons, members and supporters.

The BII’s mission is to promote high standards of professionalism throughout the licensed retail sector, to encourage new entrants into the industry and to help them develop their long-term careers.

The BII has achieved the ISO9001:2000 quality standard as well as Investors in People, and was listed in the ‘one to watch’ category of The Sunday Times ‘Best Companies to Work For’ Survey in 2009.

Wholly-owned by the BII, the BIIAB is the leading awarding body for the licensed retail sector. The BIIAB is accredited by Ofqual and the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA).

Over 1.5 million BIIAB qualifications have been processed so far.