VOLKSWAGEN SOUTH Africa - one of the largest private employers in the Eastern Cape Province - has been chosen as part of a Department of Labour initiative to pilot the Investors in People training standard. Volkswagen is one of only 40 companies and institutions in South Africa that has been chosen to pilot this international standard of training and development that will be implemented over the next two years. Volkswagen's Education and Training Institute's (ETI) general manager Leon de Klerk said the Investors in People standard aimed at getting the best out of a company's people using a specific process. "In our rapidly changing world it is important for organisations to remain flexible and dynamic but to achieve this we need to ensure people are developed so that they have the skills to be part of winning organisations," said De Klerk. "What we are looking for as we increase our investment in people through training and development is a motivated and well-trained workforce that can ensure success for years to come. "The Investors in People standard provides us with criteria and standards that will assist us in harnessing our training and development to meet the goals of the organisation." De Klerk said the Investors in People standard was developed in the United Kingdom and is being applied at pilot sites throughout South Africa and it will be used and supported by the Department of Labour. "It is a feather in Volkswagen's cap that we were selected for this pilot programme and I am convinced that this will further enhance the national Skills Development Bill," said De Klerk. "As a standard it is similar to the recent ISO-type accreditation except that it measures specifically Training and Development initiatives and systems - there are 12 main indicators we are required to apply - and I know they reflect an international standard. "Once we achieve this accreditation we will be even more confident about the services we offer to our many customers. "Apart from our own employees, Volkswagen's ETI currently has a customer base of just over 60 companies and it provides training interventions in Cape Town, Johannesburg, KwaZulu-Natal and sometimes as far afield as Mozambique."