LONDON, February 17, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Tragus, one of the UK's largest independently owned restaurant chain operators, has recently announced that it is renewing, for another three years, its e-learning relationship with ThirdForce, the leading e-learning provider in the Hospitality and Leisure sector. With over 280 sites across the country serving over 20 million meals every year and an exciting portfolio of leading brands, ThirdForce has been a proud partner in helping to drive operational excellence in Tragus.

Nick Hoad, HR director at Tragus, explained; ThirdForce has significantly helped Tragus improve the quality and quantity of the training provided in our restaurants. This has resulted in a better educated, informed and knowledgeable workforce. This has given us a competitive edge, especially as we have created our own bespoke induction programme. After three years we have completely accepted that the most effective and efficient way of training employees is via e-learning. Our employees, many of whom speak English as a second or even third language, find it invaluable.

Over 45,000 food, health safety, DDA and Induction courses have been completed in three years. Tragus has seen an increase in internal development as now over 50 per cent of its new management members are home grown having undertaken basic training via the el-Box. Team retention has also been shown to have improved by 20 per cent. Additionally, as Tragus has continued to grow, the cost per location of providing statutory compliance training also reduced as more synergies were realised.

Next steps for Tragus include extending the application of the el-Box by self-authoring and assessment training materials. It is also awaiting, with keen anticipation, the groundbreaking interface between its Payroll HR system and the e-learning AIMS perform platform. This was one of the drivers to renewing the relationship with ThirdForce. Nick Hoad commented; As leading e-learning providers in our sector, who are responsive to our feedback, I was happy to extend the service provision for another three years with ThirdForce.

Marco Faccini, head of Hospitality Leisure at ThirdForce, commented; What Tragus has achieved in the last three years is truly phenomenal when you consider there were barriers to overcome; e-learning had not been utilised previously, the learning culture needed to change, a truly blended approach needed to be applied to a multi-cultural workforce spread throughout the UK in hundreds of sites.

The training and development team at Tragus should be truly commended for not only providing a platform for introducing, enabling and maintaining a great learning experience and subsequent completion levels but for their foresight in implementing this solution and looking at what future technologies can do for them and their people.

ThirdForce Corporate Backgrounder

ThirdForce is an established provider of technology enabled learning solutions and services deployed in more than 30 countries. Working with over 2,500 customers across all major industries, our e-learning and e-assessment solutions have reached over 17 million learners.

We are a leading specialist in our field with over 25 years' experience, which provides us with a strong platform to evolve, grow and embrace new technologies and concepts.

All our products combine the latest innovations in e-learning and unique wrap-around services and infrastructure to provide you with a complete solution. Our extensive portfolio of over 4,000 courses encompasses: Compliance Training, IT Professional Certification, IT Desktop Skills, Business and Personal Skills, Talent Management, NVQ Provision, Skills for Life, Support Services, Hardware and Systems.

ThirdForce is a people oriented company and understands the need for organisations to offer the right type and level of training whenever and wherever it's needed. We specialise in aligning training to meet your organisational goals to maximise employees' performance and achieve business success.

With International HQ in London, US HQ in Columbus, Ohio and regional offices in Ireland and Canada, ThirdForce continues to expand into new sectors and markets with developing product portfolios

For further information visit http://www.thirdforce.com

Contact: Lorna Tyrtania info@thirdforce.com +44(0)20-8843-5499

SOURCE: ThirdForce

CONTACT: Contact: Lorna Tyrtania, info@thirdforce.com, +44(0)20-8843-5499