Collas Day wins Excellence in Training Award
One of AP Group’s clients, the law firm Collas Day, took home the Norman Piette Excellence in Training award at the Guernsey Awards for Achievement in February.
The award, sponsored by the Institute of Directors and the GTA University Centre, recognises commitment to training and professional career development of all staff. Shortlisted companies are selected for the quality of their training provision and its relevance to the organisation’s strategy. Collas Day has given consistent attention to training and performed well last year too, when it came second.
In accepting this year’s award, Chris Bound, managing partner, acknowledged the contribution that all members of the Collas Day team had made towards winning the award. ’Training is integral to what we are doing in the delivery of service and it has empowered all of us to give our best on behalf of our clients,’ he said. ’We are hugely proud to have achieved this recognition.’
The firm’s continuous investment in training for all staff at all levels was particularly commended. It is one of only a handful of organisations in Guernsey accredited by the Solicitors’ Regulation Authority to train would-be solicitors and offers City-quality training in the island. In addition, it encourages training across all areas of the firm, including accounting, trust and company administration, secretarial skills, marketing and communications. As well as professional training, the firm has committed to appraisal schemes, international secondments, focus groups, and ’round table’ format knowledge-sharing. Through programmes such as the annual schools Moot (a competition in which students participate in mock trials), Collas Day has been able to give local students an introduction to an aspect of legal training, to encourage them to consider a career in law.
HR manager Jo Cottell is responsible for the development and implementation of training strategy. She said, ’We’re not just a fair-weather investor in people - training is fundamental to achieve our strategic aims. While 2009 will hold challenges for all businesses, we firmly believe in the importance of continuing investment in training and development.’