Companies are improving their competitiveness and the prospects of their employees by working towards a national standard.

Investors In People (IIP) has proved popular with businesses and should be a hit with employees, according to those companies which have already been awarded the standard.

IIP sets a level of good practice for the training and development of staff and has been adopted by many companies keen to provide more opportunities for their employees and also attract new customers.

Anne-Marie Abdool, general manager of Crawley-based TSC Music, which has just retained its IIP status for a third time, said the award was a good way of ensuring staff felt involved in an organisation.

She said: "We started out as a family business. My father is the managing director and my two brothers both work here but we wanted to make sure the other staff knew they were just as important.

"From any employer's point of view it's important to make the most of every employee and the skills and experience they've got.

"Developing staff by giving them training and other opportunities is vital for business and is beneficial for the employees."

David Foster joined the company 17 years ago and has worked his way up from trainee workshop engineer to technical manager.

The company supported his studying for ONC and HNC qualifications in electronic engineering.

He said the IIP scheme ensured he kept up to date with practical training issues, such as health and safety and product information.

David said: "It's important to record this information because it gives both employers and employees something to follow and this means it's very difficult to miss things out.

"It's definitely a good thing for employees who are after the best possible training options."

Peter Maskens, human resources manager at The Grand hotel in Brighton, said a lot of companies were using the principles at the heart of IIP accreditation.

He said: "Many companies don't realise what they're doing could lead to the IIP award, which is often just about recognising the commitment a company has already made.

"The phrase Investors In People also might not mean much to our employees but they know they get a proper induction, training, appraisals and a good chance of promotion."

The main benefit of the standard was that it formalised those processes that many companies dealt with on an ad hoc basis.

Andy Bourne, who works in the hotel's leisure club, said: "It's important because it ensures money is put aside for staff training and this gives employees hope their current job isn't necessarily where they will end up."

Besides the hotel's induction programme, Andy has also been on a four-day first aid course, a five-day lifeguards course and is studying for a NVQ Level 2 in gym coaching, which he studies with the hotel's support.

He said: "Most of these are qualifications needed for the job but it's good there's a plan in place to make sure I get the training I need."

Mr Maskens said the standard was easier to achieve than it was in previous years.

He said: "Ten years ago it was a nightmare because it was so paperwork driven.

"Now it's run by business people it's a lot more sensible - there's no more filling out 20,000 forms just to prove you've done one thing. It's good for employees, who have the opportunity to learn on an ongoing basis, and it's good for companies seeking to recruit people in a very competitive job market.

"A lot of companies don't even have induction courses and this is not good enough for them or employees who want to make the most of their working life."

The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) has put aside £30 million to support small businesses in developing the skills of their workforce using the IIP Standard.

The Small Firms Initiative, a partnership between the Learning and Skills Council, Investors in People UK and Business Link, will make £1,250 available to small companies on a first-come, first-served basis.

The initiative aims to boost small companies' productivity and business performance by encouraging a further 20,000 small firms to work towards the standard by March 2005.

With more than 14,500 small employers winning IIP, this will triple the number of small companies using the standard in the next two years.

Tuesday April 1 2003