A COMPANY that supplies water to parts of Dorset, Hampshire and Wiltshire has been awarded the prestigious Investors in People (IIP) gold standard.

SEMBCORP Bournemouth Water (SBW), which supplies drinking water to half a million people, joins only 3.2 per cent of organisations in the UK to achieve gold accreditation.

SBW has now held IIP accreditation for 20 years.

Assessment is based on interviews with staff selected at random. As well as sponsoring work-related training, the company encourages staff to take up higher qualifications.

It also has an apprenticeship scheme where, as part of their training, apprentices are required to undertake a National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) programme, or similar accredited qualification, in addition to on-the-job learning. SBW is currently recruiting four apprentices.