Broadcast Sector National Training Awards 2007
On December 13th 2007 the BTSR, Ofcom and Skillset for the first time recognised excellence in training in the broadcasting industry at the Broadcast Sector National Training Awards held at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London. The award winners span a range of large, medium and small companies as well as commercial radio, cable and satellite providers and terrestrials.
The three Highly Commended were:-
KMFM Radio,
QVC ,
Sky
The three winners were:- BBC, Bloomberg News, ITV
We are delighted that UK Skills had the courage to allow us to make these awards and helped us ensure that we kept up to the high standards of the UK Skills framework.
We anticipate that this is the first of many such ceremonies in the future.
The Broadcasters then joined the National Training Awards ceremony where ITV also won a National Training Award. Many congratulations to ITV for this national recognition.
The round for an NTA starts now. Be ready to sign up.
The citations:-
KMFM Radio proved this year that you don’t have to be a large company to develop your business through well-planned, delivered and effectively evaluated training and development. The Judges felt that with fewer than 100 employees, they have taken a thoughtful and thorough approach to managing the challenges of convergence. Investment in training is shown to be highly effective – for instance a 30% increase in press sales was demonstrated after one training programme.
QVC have made a huge shift from day-to-day operation to a more strategic approach to developing their business. The judges noted that all individual and team objectives and performance appraisals are linked seamlessly to the wider corporate strategy and plans are updated to reflect changing market conditions. Evaluation is rigorous and repeated at 60 and 90 day intervals to ensure impact of training activity on day-to-day performance and behaviour.
Sky faced a major challenge. How to upgrade their production and transmission processes to ensure that they could deliver High Definition that was of a high creative and technical quality. The Judges were impressed by a well thought through and integrated approach that engaged and involved a wide range of staff and was delivered with enormous energy and enthusiasm.
The success and the credibility of Bloomberg News is based on the excellence of their training. In a highly specialised news field, their market share is dependent on accuracy and speed. Training and development is a core priority and at the very heart of the business planning process. Bloomberg University was established ten years ago to support that need. The judging panel was struck by the quality, quantity, relevance and priority given to training and development activity.
With 60,000 training days, involving 39,000 people, the BBC is at the upper reaches of training and development volume in the sector. Ambitious training projects such as the College of Journalism and its interactive website are evidence of a change in direction away from divisionally led training and development towards a more coherent and dynamic strategy-led approach. The Judges were struck by the fact that training is seen as the enabling tool to meeting the organisation’s strategic goals, underpinning specialist programming and ensuring value for money and with quarterly reviews against the corporation’s strategic plan.
In a highly challenging, fast-moving technological and business environment, ITV sees training and development as the key tool for future-proofing the organization. Training is part of any business case for a new development. This was especially notable around the new digital newsrooms. There is also a clear impact on the bottom line (for instance, with higher advertising sales after sales training). The Judges were impressed by the way training and development is knitted into the very fabric of the organization. If KMFM Radio show what is possible in training and development in a small company; ITV show what is possible in a highly commercial environment.
The background to this innovative Broadcast Sector Award
Highlighting the importance of training in the broadcast sector, the NTA Broadcast Sector Award has been created as part of a pilot by UK Skills and the Broadcast Training & Skills Regulator (BTSR), in partnership with Ofcom and Skillset.
Lord Puttnam, Skillset’s Patron, has welcomed the initiative, commenting: “People are the lifeblood and the future of our industry. As someone who is passionate about maintaining the reputation that the UK has for broadcasting excellence, I am delighted to see national recognition for organisations that are delivering the best in training and skills development.
“This is a timely collaboration,” says BTSR chairman Stephen Whittle. “The UK broadcasting industry is a world leader – but to maintain this reputation in a fast-changing and highly competitive environment, developing the skills and professionalism of the workforce has to be a top priority.”
The National Training Awards, run by UK Skills on behalf of the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, have been recognising excellence in training for 21 years. This year, to broaden the scope of the awards, UK Skills has been working with BTSR and its partners to pilot a way of linking organisations recognised for good training in their own sector into the awards.
UK Skills Chief Executive, Jacqui Henderson CBE, says: “I am delighted to have the broadcast industry’s support for this pilot. The National Training Awards are about rewarding excellence in training and development. By linking with the industry and its Sector Skills Council, we can provide broadcasting companies with the opportunity to benchmark their training against the best in the UK.”
The National Training Awards were set up in 1986 to recognise and celebrate organisations and individuals who have achieved significant excellence and success through training. Anyone or any organisation that has benefited from training can enter the awards, regardless of the sector they operate in or organisational size. The awards allow organisations to benchmark their training against that of other organisations both across the UK and across a range of sectors.
More information about the National Training Awards can be found at www.nationaltrainingawards.com.