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In the fourth of a series profilling the 2007 Lancashire Telegraph Business Awards, to be held at Ewood Park on November 16, business reporter ANDREW HEWITT looks at the training award.

WINNING the training award in last year Lancashire Telegraph Business Awards was the perfect way for Fort Vale Engineering to start its 40th anniversary.

And the Nelson-based firm sees investing in staff training as the key behind being able to compete on a global scale.

Fort Vale was set up in 1967 by Ted Fort OBE and has become a lead player in manufacturing valves and fittings for chemical containers.

Early next year the company is due to move to its new headquarters at the former LG Philips TV glass factory site, in Simonstone.

Fort Vale, which employs about 250 staff, faces a skills shortage by having to compete against aerospace giants BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce to attract workers.

This led the firm launching a dedicated training programme which has seen apprentices and former apprentices making up about a fifth of the workforce - a factor which help win over the judges last year.

Carl Thornley group health and safety manager, who is involved in the company's training schemes said: "At Fort Vale we don't simply pay lip service to training our workforce.

"We see it is a fundamental building block in our efforts to compete on the global stage in what is a very competitive market.

"For many years now Fort Vale has invested in training to give the flexibility that it needs in the workforce and to counter increasing difficulties finding people with the right skills to join.

"Winning the Lancashire Telegraph award for training was great for the company because it put our efforts in this area in the spotlight.

"It was a great way of enhancing our reputation as a business that is happy to 'Grow its Own'.

"It was particularly pleasing to win the award because we were up against some very tough opposition."