11th November 2014

B & V Group’s training initiatives recognised as one of the best in the county

B & V Group’s training initiatives recognised as one of the best in the county

The Northamptonshire Business Event of the Year is just around the corner and B & V Group are proud to be a finalist for this year’s prestigious award for “Training and Development”.

Billed as the most prestigious award ceremony in the county, the Northamptonshire Excellence Awards celebrate the best in business that Northamptonshire has to offer. This year’s awards ceremony will take place on Thursday 11th December at the Daventry Court Hotel and will be attended by representatives from B & V Group as they hope to lift the trophy for “Best Training and Development Award 2014”.

B & V Group have been shortlisted for their innovative approach to working in partnership with external Awarding Organisations to design and deliver Ofqual accredited Level 2 and Level 3 qualifications in Legionella Awareness and Legionella Control for Responsible Persons. Speaking on behalf of the B & V Training Academy, Training Manager Sarah Pallett commented,

“We are delighted to have been nominated as a finalist for this award and it is testament to the hard work and dedication of all colleagues involved in setting up the B & V Training Academy. We always strive for the highest quality training and development initiatives, both for our internal and external customers and it was this drive for excellence that motivated the Training Academy to work with external Awarding Organisations to design brand new, ground-breaking qualifications in Legionella control.”

The key to our success…

B & V Group is one of the UK’s leading, independent provider of water treatment products and services. As part of our commitment to providing the best quality service to our clients, B & V Group take training very seriously. It is particularly important to have robust, formal training solutions in one particular subject – legionella control. Legionella is a water borne bacteria, which can cause Legionnaires’ disease in susceptible individuals. B & V Group are experts in providing legionella control within water systems, largely due to the rigorous training solutions they have in place for internal colleagues.

Prior to 2013, B & V Group were offering informal training courses to internal colleagues and external customers entitled “Managing the Risk”, which were focussed on controlling the risks presented by Legionella bacteria. These courses were not accredited by an external body. Competitors’ courses were accredited by City and Guilds, which provided endorsement by an external body but were not accredited by the Qualifications Regulator; Ofqual.

B & V Group decided to take a more robust approach, ensuring the training they provided resulted in a formal, regulated assessment of the delegate’s ability and knowledge in Legionella control. The B & V Training Academy was formally established as a separate division and a Training Manager was appointed to head up the new division. The B & V Training Academy began discussions with Highfield Awarding Body for Compliance (HABC), the leading Awarding Body for compliance qualifications, presenting a business case for why the Legionella Awareness course should be accredited by Ofqual; the Qualifications and Examinations regulator.

HABC immediately agreed to work with us, using our subject matter expertise to develop a formal Level 2 Award in Legionella Awareness and a Level 3 Award in Legionella Control for Responsible Persons. Jason Sprenger, HABC Chief Executive congratulated B & V Group,

“It’s always great to see good businesses recognised for their work, even more so when it is a business that we work so closely with.  B&V Water has been instrumental in helping develop qualifications and training so that learners, employees and businesses can effectively manage the risk of legionella. I am delighted to see all their hard work and dedication recognised in this way.  Everyone at HABC wishes B&V Water the best of luck in the Training and Development category in the Northamptonshire Business Excellence Awards 2014. We will certainly be keeping our fingers crossed!”

This year, B & V Group have already received a Medilink East Midlands Award for “Collaboration with the NHS” which was in part awarded in recognition of the B & V Training Academy for working with another external awarding organisation to develop a Level 2 Award in Controlling Water borne Infections within Healthcare (QCF) qualification. The organisation was also shortlisted as a finalist for a H & V News Award.

If you would like further information about any of the qualifications or courses listed above please contact trainingcourses@bvwater.co.uk.