DHL Aviation, part of DHL Express - the world's leading express company - received an award for its Skills for Life programme in the 2007 Business in the Community (BITC) Awards for Excellence. DHL's innovative training programme has been rewarded with a Big Tick award, which recognises companies that are able to demonstrate excellence in organising and integrating their responsible business practices and who can show a positive impact on employees, society and the business.

DHL Aviation, which has 800 employees based at both East Midlands Airport and London Heathrow, realised that as part of its drive to help attract, retain and train employees they needed to focus on improving English and maths skills within the organisation. DHL Aviation's Skills for Life programme analysed the skills needs of the business and developed tailored training solutions suiting these requirements.

The Skills for Life programme has already delivered exceptional results: over 600 assessments have been carried out and employee turnover has reduced significantly since the launch of the programme.

The programme was officially launched in November 2006 by Phil Hope MP, the Skills Minister who commented "DHL Aviation has taken Skills for Life to a whole new level with a unique approach which really tailors education to its employees' needs. We hope more companies follow in DHL's footsteps to provide their employees with a well-rounded educational experience which will benefit both the individual and the business itself".

Colin Butler, Head of Human Resources at DHL Aviation, said: "Our Skills for Life programme has been a huge success for us as a business and is going from strength to strength. It has made a real difference to our employees and we are now developing the programme further. We are also one of the first companies in England to take the skills pledge announced by the Government on 14th June to give our employees the opportunity to improve English and maths and gain a full level 2 qualification".

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