Crowned King of Trainers after 10 years

18 February 2010

The Managing Director of abv Training Ltd, David Hawbrook, was yesterday unveiled as the UK's king of trainers when he collected the prestigious independant 'Professional trainer of the year' award.

It is the second time David has won the award, the last time being a decade ago in the 2000 competition.

The annual awards are the BII's (British Institute of Innkeeping) recognition for the individuals and companies within the licensed and hospitality industry that have demonstrated commitment and expertise in employee development and training.

Commenting after the ceremony at Coventry's Ricoh Arena, David said: "I am absolutely delighted; I have been focussed on growing our business over the last 10 years but have always kept my passion for training and personal development. It is the reason I got into this industry and it is fantastic to know that I am still at the top of my game after all these years."

abv Training Ltd deliver courses and qualifications to the licensed retail and hospitality industry across the UK. They are approved to deliver qualifications by the BIIAB, which includes the National Certificate for Personal Licence Holders (NCPLH), and The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health.

Competition for the title is widely regarded as the most important in the industry and the UK's leading trainers enter the awards every year to try and claim the title.

"The BII NITAs are always extremely popular and competition for finalist places is always strong," said BII director of marketing, Sue Medhurst. "I'm delighted to say that in spite of the pressures on all businesses in the current climate, training is still clearly seen as a vital way to secure business success and we received a higher number of entries than last year."

This is the eighth consecutive year abv Training Ltd has been represented at the finals, with Regional Director Peter Fulton winning the title in 2006 and Regional Manager, Frazer Grant narrowly missing out after reaching the finals in the last two year's competitions.

David added; "The NITA's are our way of benchmarking the company against the very best in the country, we are very proud of our pedigree as a business and I'm extremely proud of the team. Winning this title again proves abv Training's reputation as one of the best training companies in the UK."

abv Training Ltd have also been repeatedly chosen to deliver the food safety, hygiene and NCPLH courses to the stars of hit TV shows on both the BBC and Channel 4.

The winners of the seven categories, including the 'Professional trainer of the year' were announced yesterday (Thursday 18th February) at the BIIAB annual conference in Coventry.