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CragRats received a National Training Award

CragRats joined forces with the Communications Division of West Yorkshire Police to deliver a pioneering learning programme which has had a dramatic effect on reducing stress levels within the Division.

The National Training Awards, managed on behalf of the Department of Education and Skills by UK Skills, are the number one accolade for businesses and organisations who have achieved lasting excellence and success through training and learning.  The 2006 awards were presented by breakfast television’s Andrew Castle at Leeds Town Hall on Thursday 2 November.

Dave Bradley, Co-founder and Managing Director of CragRats said, “It is fantastic to receive recognition for our dedication to excellence.  At CragRats we are committed to understanding our clients’ objectives and working with them to deliver innovative and motivational training that makes a lasting difference in their organisation.” 

In 2003 West Yorkshire Police identified stress and stress-related illness as the major medically-related cause of absences. They joined forces with us, to deliver a programme to raise awareness of the issues that cause stress and how to react to them, and to enable staff to become aware of how to cope with traumatic stress and the techniques to manage their own stress levels.

CragRats’ used a range of accelerated learning techniques and the programme was provocative and visual, with theatrical scenarios simulating what personnel might experience in the workplace. Feedback showed that 96 per cent of delegates had a better understanding of the role they could play in recognising stress among co-workers as a result of the training, and 98 per cent were more aware of how to deal with stress at work.  One officer described the training as "the most relevant, practical and entertaining training session I have attended in 20 years of managing absence."

Duncan Dyson, Personnel Manager, West Yorkshire Police, commented; “My aim was to deliver an impactive, interactive training experience on a particularly sensitive topic.  CragRats helped me turn my vision into reality.” He went on to say, "There has been a steady improvement in call handling performance. Statistics show that at the end of 2003, 80 percent of 999 calls were being answered with 15 seconds. This figure is now 90 percent.” 

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