Sodexo manager wins Train to Gain award

Thomas, who works for Sodexo at Carpet Right Plc in Purfleet, was one of only seven people from across the UK to be short-listed for the honour. The award winner, who has worked for Sodexo since December 2007, where she heads a team of ten staff providing catering and cleaning services; enrolled on an NVQ Level Three course in Hospitality and Supervision at the end of July 2008, which she finished in January 2009. Her assessors were so impressed with her commitment to the course and the speed of her progress that they encouraged her to complete the self-nomination process for the Train to Gain award. To enter, Thomas had to answer a series of questions explaining how studying for the seven modules required to pass the course and the tasks and assessment she had to complete had benefited her day to day work. Thomas said: "I am ecstatic. I knew they had a record number of applicants this year so make it to the final seven was already a huge achievement for me. I really didn't expect to win. The NVQ was something I really wanted to do and I'm really proud of the way I managed to fit my studies around work at Sodexo without compromising the high standard of the services we offer." In addition to a trophy from the Workforce Development Awards, designed to celebrate adult learners who have excelled in work-based learning and employers who have developed innovative workforce development programmes, Thomas also received complimentary tickets for tourist attraction the London Eye. 'Train to Gain' recognises employees who are working towards, or who have completed, an NVQ Level Two or above, who have made a contribution to their workplace which has exceeded their employer's expectations and resulted in measurable benefits.