June welcomed the launch of the Good Day campaign from SummitSkills, designed to encourage employers to develop the skills of their employees, to make their businesses better equipped to succeed.

Defining a good day for businesses in this sector includes asking questions like ‘did I win the contract, did I finish the project on time' and, underpinning this: ‘do I have the right team in place to help me succeed?' The key to this success is making sure that your workforce is up-to-date with new technologies and armed with the knowledge they need to help your business prosper.

Whatever the size of your business, there is plenty of help available to train your employees to all levels.

Apprenticeships are one effective way of recruiting staff who are motivated to learn. Apprentices learn through a combination of on and off the job learning. Making the most of the people you already employ is also important. Investing in skills and qualifications through initiatives such as Train to Gain in England not only boosts employees' performance but also goes some way to ensuring staff retention and continued loyalty.

There is also a wide range of courses and professional development programmes available that cover new and changing legislation, technologies and business development opportunities.

Supervisory and management training

You could have great people with technical skills but do they possess the skills to take a step up to supervisory and management level? Many companies promote their staff into supervisory or management roles without any form of training in these areas. This not only challenges their confidence but also could be costing your business productivity and profits. In addition investing in business development gives senior managers the skills needed to run a business well and to make the most of new prospects. Employers can even develop their own skills.

At a time where the UK BSE sector is facing a significant skills shortage, it has never been more important to address the issue of training and the impact this will have on a business. In order to keep your customers happy and to secure your company's reputation, it is vital to make sure that your customer service, technical knowledge and ability is head and shoulders above the competition.

Training also increases employees' confidence and job satisfaction, which in turn creates new business opportunities, grows your business and boosts your bottom line.

Good Day goes live

SummitSkills has produced a range of promotional material to support the Good Day campaign, including a case study booklet featuring employers who are already benefiting from training, and a campaign website, http://www.goodday.org.uk/. The campaign is also being applied to encourage people to join the sector, positioning building services engineering as providing a career where individuals will have a good day, everyday.

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