Lotus Training Blossoms

Group Lotus plc, the National Skills Academy for Manufacturing, City College Norwich and the

Learning and Skills Council's Train to Gain service have joined forces to provide a Level 2

NVQ training course in Business Improvement Techniques (B-IT).

Seventeen Lotus employees have become the first of 300 at the internationally renowned

company to be awarded the prestigious industry-recognised qualification, which has been

tailored to meet the needs of a large manufacturing business. The way the course at Lotus

has been developed is seen as a pioneering step for the manufacturing industry and is the first

such accredited course in the county of Norfolk to have been run internally. The course is

unique as the training is delivered by Lotus staff who themselves are fully qualified to deliver

the course to the National Skills Academy for Manufacturing recognised standards.

On Wednesday 12th December 2007 Mike Kimberley the CEO of Group Lotus plc presented

the 17 employees with their NVQ Level 2 certificates in front of a distinguished audience.

Mike Kimberley, Chief Executive of Group Lotus plc commented "We are proud to be

spearheading Lotus Training Initiative in private industry in the UK working with the National

Skills Academy for Manufacturing. This training forms part of the continuous improvement

philosophy employed at our world class manufacturing plant. Improvements in performance

and quality will directly benefit the production of our multi-award winning sports cars currently

in production, our future models, the first of which is our new mid sized sports car due for

production start early 2009 and our high technology client vehicles that we manufacture. We

are very proud of the progress we are making and I would like to congratulate the work force

on their commitment to the NVQ course. At Lotus, we are giving all our staff an opportunity to

grow within the company and progress their career, which will have the benefit of improving

our workforce, making our business even more successful and contributing to the wonderful

reputation that the UK has for innovative, efficient and viable engineering and manufacture."

Bob Gibbon, the Managing Director of the National Skills Academy said, "The NVQ for B-IT

Level 2 is an approved benchmark of competence in the application of best practices in the

workplace. Not only do these help organisations optimise their business processes but just as

importantly, it empowers employees to engage in their own development journey. Lotus is an excellent example of a committed workforce and leadership intent on achieving world class

excellence."

Glen Moore, Skills Development Manager at the Learning and Skills Council said: "We're

really excited about working with Lotus Cars through Train to Gain. Employers need to invest

in the skills of their workforce, if the UK is to compete effectively in the global market place.

Lotus Cars has clearly taken this message to heart and is a world class company, at the

leading edge of skills development in the region."

Principal of City College: Dick Palmer said: "This is really exciting stuff! I'm delighted that City

College is working with Lotus Cars to meet its training requirements. As one of the first of its

kind, this training partnership is a strategically important relationship for both organisations and

sets an example for others to follow up and down the country. Train to Gain is a new and

innovative way of delivering training, based on a flexible response to an employer's individual

demands".

Continuous Improvement Manager for Lotus, John Vigar has championed this initiative at

Lotus from its conception, "The Business Improvement Techniques course is designed around

the interaction between people and the best practices we adopt to ensure that we maintain our

world class performance status. This excellent training programme promotes high levels of

empowerment for people working within a team ethic and it goes a very long way towards

helping people further develop their skill base."

Lotus has received over two hundred and eighty enrolment requests from employees since

launching the initiative earlier in the year. The first one hundred and thirty of these have

already completed their classroom training, which indicates that the company is well on the

way to achieving its target of three hundred City & Guilds NVQ level 2 Certificates by July

2008

The Business Improvement Techniques NVQ includes modules in Health and Safety, Effective

Team Working, Work Place Organisation, Continuous Improvement, Visual Management and

Problem Solving. This training scheme was the first Business Improvement Techniques course

in the region and provides relevant skills for automotive manufacturing.