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STOPPRESS • Water Babies


Emerging Franchisor of the Year • Ableworld


• Bright & Beautiful • Right at Home Award for Innovation • Chemex • McDonald’s • O2


Franchisee Recruitment Award • Autosmart • Mail Boxes Etc. • Riverford Organic Farms Brand of the Year • Kumon • The ZipYard International Achievement • InXpress • Pirtek


Franchisor of the Year finalists confirmed


After a record number of entries and an extremely competitive judging process, 20 finalists have been named for the bfa HSBC Franchisor of the Year Awards 2014 supported by Express Newspapers. New categories introduced this year led to an increase in entrant numbers of more than 30 per cent compared to 2013 and a very high standard across the board, with a great mixture of new and upcoming businesses


combining with some of the giants of UK franchising. Vying for the awards are:


bfa HSBC Franchisor of the Year • Agency Express • Autosmart • Domino’s • ERA


• Signs Express • TaxAssist Accountants


Cathryn Hayes, head of franchising for HSBC, said: “This is one of the toughest year’s judging processes I can remember. The 20 finalists should be extremely proud to have stood out in a highly competitive field, reflecting the quality and depth that is found in today’s franchise brands. “Commiserations go to those that did not make it this far and we hope to see them again next year.” This year’s guest judges are Adrian Price of Menzies and Suzie McCafferty of Platinum Wave, who join regular judges Brian Smart, Cathryn Hayes and Sean Hammond, head of franchising for Express Newspapers, for this year’s awards. Winners will be announced at a black-tie gala dinner on 26 June at Heythrop Park, Oxfordshire.


Pitman Training expands into Romania


UK-based training provider Pitman Training is showcasing yet more growth, further expanding its presence internationally by partnering with the Bucharest College to provide vocational training courses and study programmes in Romania in order to help address the skill shortage. Thanks to its strong education system, Romania enjoys one of Europe’s most highly educated workforces. In common with many other developed countries, however, there are mismatches between theoretical knowledge and the practical skills and competencies needed for the modern workplace environment.


8 | www.franchisornews.co.uk


With their established reputation in the UK and the diversity of their courses, Pitman Training will work with Bucharest College to address this skills gap and increase the mobility of labour by offering their unique study programmes in Romania. The first Pitman Training centre will be launched in June in the presence of HM Ambassador to Romania and the chairman of the British-Romanian Chamber of Commerce. Alongside the flexible study options Pitman Training currently offers, and the ability for students to study via an online distance-learning platform, there are also talks with five different


universities across Romania to incorporate supporting Pitman Training outlets and further expand access.


Heading the first Romanian centre is Peter


Wells who said: “The open and flexible dynamic of the Pitman Training offering not only effectively addresses the need for a structured system of continuous professional development, but by allowing learners the freedom to fit their study or training around other work and personal commitments, the Pitman model also significantly increases access to training and certification opportunities to a far wider community.”


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