A FREE workshop to help regional businesses formulate entries for the 2005 National Training Awards is being held in York next week.

UK Skills has organised the event at the Learning and Skills Council North Yorkshire offices in Clifton Moor on Tuesday.

It will be the last in a series of workshops across Yorkshire where experienced training professionals will be on hand to guide employers through the entry process before deadline on April 29.

Last year, there were 89 entries from Yorkshire, an increase on the previous year and six per cent of all National Training Award winners were from the region.

They included: Jobcentre Plus and Energy and Utility Skills; Sheffield South West Primary Care Trust; BP Chemicals and Hull College; Cadbury Trebor Bassett.

Dr Graeme Hall, the newly appointed chief executive of UK Skills, said: "The National Training Awards are often viewed as a barometer of the UK's changing attitudes to training.

"Last year we had more than 1,000 entrants and 300 winners from 23 industry areas across the UK. These impressive figures show that more and more employers are recognising training as a vital part of business development and benefiting from the direct bottom-line boost that it brings."

The awards are open to organisations and individuals who have achieved career success and personal fulfilment through training.

To enter the National Training Awards or book a place at a workshop, call 0800 9177337.

Updated: 14:27 Wednesday, March 16, 2005