Banbridge WorldHost Celebration Event

Local business representatives were recently welcomed to the Civic Building, Banbridge in recognition of their achievements in completing the WorldHost Customer Service training programme.

Speaking at the event, Chairman of Banbridge District Council Cllr Hamilton said, “Customer service is undoubtedly one of the essential elements of any successful business, be that in the Retail, Hospitality or Tourism sectors, and it is the Council’s intention to facilitate the roll-out of the WorldHost Customer Service Programmes across the District. I would like to congratulate you all on achieving your WorldHost qualification, and would encourage you to spread the word about this programme, in order to ensure as many as possible benefit from it.” Whilst congratulating those present, Cllr Hamilton announced Banbridge District Council’s commitment to work towards achieving WorldHost Destination Status for Banbridge. This will require 25% of all customer-facing businesses in the District undertaking the WorldHost training.

Also present at the event, was Louise McKinstry, Industry Development Officer from the Northern Ireland Tourist Board. She said, “As the tourism sector continues to contribute significantly to the economy, WorldHost helps businesses up-scale their service credentials, increase sales and gain a competitive advantage. Well done to all the recent participants in Banbridge District Council on their achievements in WorldHost Customer Service. I also commend the council’s commitment to work towards achieving WorldHost Destination Status for Banbridge and I look forward to helping them on this journey.”

Congratulating the participants on their achievement Sammy Gamble from Skills Solutions in the Department for Employment and Learning (DEL) added: ”With over 12,000 employees in Northern Ireland already successfully trained, WorldHost Customer Service clearly demonstrates how DEL’s funding support to the Hospitality, Tourism and Retail sector can deliver skills training to assist businesses. It is clear that this prestigious programme ticks all the boxes for employers wanting to grow their customer base. All the participating employers have made a genuine commitment to train their staff to deliver excellent customer service and through DEL’s Skills Solutions Service support are able to improve the skill set of their employees, thus enchancing their contribution to the local economy.”

The Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB), the sector skills council People 1st, and the Department for Employment and Learning are working in close partnership to provide WorldHost customer service training in Northern Ireland. The initiative aims to help businesses improve customer service skills in a range of industries including the tourism, hospitality, leisure, retail and passenger transport sectors. The two day programme costs just £20 per person for eligible businesses and includes either a familiarisation trip to a number of local visitor attractions for the tourism programme or a sales and merchandising workshop for those who prefer a retail focus.

A number of WorldHost courses are scheduled to run in the District; For more information on how your business can benefit from WorldHost, or to book onto a course, please contact Chartered Marketer Christine Watson, Watson & Co. Chartered Marketing
visit: www.watsonsmarketing.com/events, email: info@watsonsmarketing.com or call us on 028 9066 1139.