Education, training and employee development are the keys to business success. The winner of the category will need to have demonstrated real commitment to developing and motivating their workforce at a time when the cost/benefit equation is more important than ever.

The Adur & Worthing Business Awards 2011 will be held at the Pavilion Theatre, Worthing on Saturday 8th October 2011.

All nominations are now in, and entries for the event are now closed.  (View the category shortlist here.)

The inimitable Fred Dineage will be the host for the evening which begins at 6:30pm.
Tickets for the event can be acquired by contacting Jeanette Hockley on 01243 534140 or via email jeanette.hockley@jpress.co.uk

Due to continued expansion and recent major contract wins, Alpha Training have moved to new larger premises, conveniently set just off the main A27 trunk road between Worthing and Portsmouth. Alpha Training have recently been accredited with ISO 9001 certification and offer a wide range of interactive bespoke Health and Safety Training Courses, in key areas such as First Aid, Confined Space, Fire Safety, Risk Assessment, Manual Handling, Rescue – along with many more specialist areas.

To contact Alpha Training, please call 01903 871381, or visit their website at: www.alphahealthandsafety.com

The paper, entitled A New Purpose for Politics: Quality of Life, was unveiled at the recent Liberal Democrat Autumn Conference and aims to make promoting quality of life an integral part of public policy making. It outlines Liberal Democrat policies to achieve a good quality of life, centred on enabling and supporting people to take their own decisions about their lives.

The paper says it is “anomalous” that people can be disqualified from being a company director for reasons of financial impropriety, but not for even very serious cases of failing to protect their employees’ well-being. It suggests that the current rules for disqualification of directors in cases of financial misconduct should be extended, for example, to include serious breaches of legal duties to staff as an employer.

The policy paper also suggests the creation of a National Institute for Well-being to collate evidence and promote best practice in increasing quality of life, as well as supporting the extension of flexible working rights.

The Lib Dems acknowledge that, “Many employers are already actively concerned to maximise their employees’ well-being,” but the paper seeks to “extend this to more workplaces, especially to the lowest-paid”.

Introducing the paper, Jo Swinson, Liberal Democrat MP for East Dunbartonshire, said, “We all recognise that our quality of life matters but large-scale studies show that levels of reported life satisfaction in the UK have been roughly static for decades.”

Article source: British Safety Council.

The ISO 9000 family of standards relate to quality management systems and are designed to help organizations ensure they meet the needs of customers and other stakeholders). The standards are published by ISO, the International Organization for Standardization and available through National standards bodies. ISO 9000 deals with the fundamentals of quality management systems, including the eight management principles on which the family of standards is based. ISO 9001 deals with the requirements that organizations wishing to meet the standard have to fulfill.

This certification has been achieved due to the continued commitment of the Alpha team, and their constant dedication to customer service and standards.

The Brigade says it has over 300 women firefighters, and has invited the actress to learn how crews deal with fires and also how people can prevent fires from happening in the first place.

A source at the Brigade said that on the proposed visit, Kate would visit the Brigade’s training centre, meet trainees and experience the role of a modern day firefighter. This would include operational duties such as trying out firefighter breathing apparatus and climbing a ladder pitched against a tower block.

The source said she would also be made aware of the community safety activities that firefighting staff regularly carry out.

The Fire Brigade says that being prepared for a fire gives people a much better chance of survival. The three key steps are to:
•    have a working smoke alarm
•    have an escape route planned for the event of a fire
•    understand that if a fire starts, to get out, stay out and call 999.

Dany Cotton, the Deputy Assistant Commissioner of the London Fire Brigade, and the highest operational woman firefighter in the country, said, “Kate has shown true bravery and we would love her to visit the London Fire Brigade and see the work that real firefighters do at first hand. We’d remind Kate that having a working smoke alarm and an escape plan are extremely important in cutting the risk of dying or being injured in a fire. Kate has shown that women can carry out rescues just as well as men.”

She added, “I hope her actions will encourage more women to think about becoming a firefighter.”

Article source:  British Safety Council.

London Fire Brigade said its 999 control centre answered 2169 calls between 6pm on the Monday night and 7.19am on Tuesday. This is around 15 times the normal rate of calls the Brigade would expect on an average day.

Cllr Brian Coleman, Chairman and Leader of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority, said the events of Monday night were “unprecedented”.

“Those who are starting these fires deliberately are in danger of killing someone if this widespread, mindless thuggery continues. As we’ve seen in previous days, what starts as a bin or car fire can easily spread to nearby shops and homes.”

In Manchester, on Tuesday night, incidents were focused mainly in Salford and Manchester City Centre.

A source at Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service said crews had successfully dealt with an incident at Miss Selfridge on Market Street and were dealing with an incident at Lidl supermarket on Fitzwarren Street in Salford. The source said Manchester fire crews were facing “very difficult working conditions.”

Attacks on fire fighters have been reported in London, Manchester, and Nottingham.

The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) issued a stark warning that attacks on fire crews would result in deaths if they continue, since any delay in carrying out rescues hugely increases the risk to anyone trapped in a fire.

FBU Assistant General Secretary Andy Dark said, “Fire crews have been subjected to attacks and threatened as they try to protect the communities they live and work in.”