2011 Skills Highway Award Winner Announced

The Department of Labour congratulates Auckland logistics and freight company Cardinal Logistics - winner of this year's Skills Highway Award.

The Department-sponsored award recognises employers who successfully boosted employees' reading, writing, maths and communications skills with workplace literacy training.

"Cardinal Logistics are very deserving winners. In two years, they improved the foundation skills of their people - and, with that, team work, accuracy and company productivity," says Jeremy Corban, head of policy and research at the Department of Labour.

"Staff are more confident. They go on to complete industry training in bigger numbers. And they take time off work less frequently.

"We heard at last night's awards dinner that workplace literacy training had a big part to play in all of this," he says.

The Department would also like to congratulate Stevenson Group who were highly commended.

Stevenson Group provides products and services to the quarrying, mining, engineering, infrastructure and construction markets. It also has significant agricultural and property interests.

Stevenson used training to successfully promote company values, interpersonal skills, self-awareness, critical thinking, problem solving, personal budgeting and wellness.

Managers and supervisors say teamwork and communication continues to improve. Employees are more confident, they question and solve problems more readily and relate better to their colleagues.

Cardinal Logistics and Stevenson Group picked up their awards at the annual Equal Employment Opportunities (EEO) Trust Work & Life Awards dinner in Auckland.

Mr Corban says: "I encourage more organisations to follow the lead of Cardinal Logistics and Stevenson Group.

"Like all five Award entrants, they help us learn about the positive impact workplace literacy training has on company productivity and operations, as well as the lives of individual employees.

"Cardinal Logistics shows us how literacy training works well for small to medium enterprises with big growth ambitions. And we also know from Stevenson Group's example that it can do a lot for large workplaces striving to continually achieve the highest standards in their field."

Background

Read more about skills training by visiting the Department of Labour's Skills Highway website. It has plenty of free advice, tools, Kiwi case studies and tips on workplace literacy training. Check out: http://www.skillshighway.govt.nz/ind

Research shows about 4 in every 10 New Zealand employees have difficulties with reading, writing, maths and communication. New Zealand's poor adult literacy rates have long been considered a serious issue that costs businesses through accidents and injuries, high wastage, mistakes, missed deadlines and low productivity.

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