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The retail motor industry’s share of a £10million Government fund to help improve the skills of women employed in traditionally male-dominated professions is soon to be exhausted, according to automotive training specialist, Autavis, which has places available providing candidates are registered by the end of September 2009.

Introduced three years ago, the Women and Work scheme provides ‘cost neutral’ training for female personnel working in the motor industry in England. Women account for less than 20% of the workforce in the automotive sector, some 120,000 people but research has shown that more than 40% of the industry’s customers are female. One of the aims of the Women and Work scheme was to encourage businesses to close the gender gap.

To qualify for the Government cash incentive, employers must ensure female candidates have a personal development plan, which can include as many courses or development activities as an individual needs. Women and Work is a ‘match funded’ scheme, which means businesses must equal the amount invested by the Government. This does not need to be cash but could include time allowed for training, for example.

Commented Nick Wright, Managing Director, Autavis:

“Many hundreds of businesses and a few thousand women in our sector have really benefited from the ‘Women and Work’ initiative but time is running out fast for the last remaining vacancies to be filled on the programme. Autavis manages the whole process for dealers and it won’t cost them a penny to get involved but the end of September is the final registration date. There won’t be an extension so we invite interested businesses to get in touch as soon as possible.”

Autavis was responsible for registering some 200 women from Hartwell plc on the Women and Work scheme when it launched. Yvonne Cubbage, General Manager, Hartwell Ford in Kidlington and a number of her female colleagues were among the first to benefit from the initiative.

Commented Mrs Cubbage:

“I’ve been in the motor industry for over 20 years and I firmly believe that there are tremendous opportunities for women within our sector. I got involved in this project as it stimulates learning and I would really encourage businesses to take advantage of the financial support, particularly during these challenging times for our sector.”          

Kevin Godfrey, Operations Director, Hartwell plc, said:

“Hartwell is keen to recruit and retain women in all areas of our business and the ‘Women and Work’ initiative has certainly helped us provide skills development opportunities for female employees within the group, a number of which hold senior positions.”

Interested dealers shou ld contact Nick Wright at Autavis on 01865 864821.

News release issued on behalf of Autavis by Blackbird Communications.

For further information please contact Stuart Brooks on 01727 899488 or 0780 3153329.

  

Notes to Editors:

A pioneering approach to delivering learning programmes online has positioned Autavis as one of the leading specialist training companies serving the UK automotive retail sector. Established for over ten years, Autavis works with a wide range of businesses, from multi-billion turnover PLCs to very small private companies and many in between. Its e-learning and multi-media portfolio has been carefully designed with the assistance of experts from a range of automotive industry backgrounds to ensure that candidates benefit from solid, practical techniques and processes which have proven results.

In today’s rapidly evolving marketplace, flexibility is a key factor and Autavis has a sophisticated Learning Management System (LMS) which takes care of all the administration, enabling candidates to learn at their own pace. Autavis has added nationally recognised qualifications to its portfolio, providing businesses with an opportunity to seek funding to help staff achieve National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) and Vocationally Related Qualifications (VRQs) in customer service and sales. www.autavis.com