EMPLOYEES at Highlands End Holiday Park, Eype, have been excelling in their training courses.

Staff from the park have taken part in various training courses including apprenticeships in hospitality.

Every year, Louise Randall, PA to directors Martin and Vanessa Cox, prepares a training programme for each employee and, whilst working within a budget, implements as much training as possible.

"Over the past year 32 employees have completed courses across all departments, 20 different types of courses have been completed and over 587 hours have been spent on organisation and attendance time," she said.

"By participating in these apprenticeships it has helped us improve our productivity, motivate our employees and avoid any skills shortages."

Employees taking part include Tom Denning and Will Stork, who are currently in the final stages of food preparation and cooking apprenticeships.

Mr Denning recently successfully completed NVQ Level 3, while Mr Stork, in his first year, is very close to achieving NVQ Level 2.

Alison Calder, hospitality and catering programme manager at Paragon and ITE Training Group, said "Tom and Will have put in a lot of dedication and enthusiasm into their programmes and are able to adapt to any situation."

The pair completed most of their training at Highlands End under the guidance of the catering team including Sally Newman and James Watson.

As part of their studies they also had to attend regular training sessions at Weymouth where they worked with experienced chefs and had to complete assignments to prove their knowledge and understanding.