A NEWPORT woman is celebrating after scooping a UK Training Award for achieving lasting excellence and success through training.

The UK Training Awards are the UK's number one accolade for organisations and individuals who have decided to improve their chances of success through learning new skills.

Linda Lavender, (pictured) a 38-year-old mother of three from Newport, received two awards from Assembly education and lifelong learning minister Jane Davidson at the ceremony for Wales' finalists.

The first was a Wales Award for success at the national level of the competition, and the second, the UK Training Award, was for a winning entry against finalists from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

The UK Training Awards attract hundreds of entries each year from individuals, partnerships, charities and major corporations, reflecting the dynamic range and scope of training that is taking place across the UK.

This year almost 800 entries were received from across the UK, a significant rise compared to last year, with an increase of 39% in entries from Wales alone. For Linda, the awards are the culmination of 13 years of hard work and commitment. Ms Lavender joined Gilesports in 1988 at the age of 25, having taken a career break to raise a family.

She was an assistant manager, but despite her success in this position, Ms Lavender realised that she was not fulfilling her true potential.

She felt that she had made a mistake in placing a low priority on academic success whilst at school and felt that this was now impeding her development.

Far from being discouraged by this, Ms Lavender decided that she needed a structured program of learning to unlock her hidden talents.

Her management skills and ability to deal with personnel and customers alike led her naturally to the area of human resources.

She said: "My aim was to further my career by developing my strengths in line with the needs of the business.

"My knowledge of the company and the general business environment in which we were operating led me to believe that the time would come when developing people would be key to Gilesports' success and that correspondingly, opportunities would arise within the human resources arena."

In time, the company grew to the extent that outsourcing training to other organisations became inefficient and costly and Linda was on the spot with all the personnel skills required to take on the role, with the added benefit of having in-depth knowledge of the company.

As a result of her hard work, determination and ability to see the bigger picture, Ms Lavender found herself promoted to the senior position of human resources and training manager.

Her drive and commitment to achieve is not just about achieving for herself, but also about helping the company to develop further.

She said: "I have accomplished far more than I had ever envisaged when I planned my learning programme and each new skill I have acquired has opened new possibilities and presented new ways in which I can contribute to Gilesports.

"I have found that as you expand your frontiers, more opportunities present themselves. "I can honestly say that I see no end-point for my learning programme, my intention is to continually identify areas to develop and to find new and more challenging ways to apply myself to the company's growing needs."

As a UK winner, Linda will now be invited to the UK ceremony hosted by education secretary Estelle Morris at London's Theatre Royal on December 11.

At the event, special awards will be made to organisations and individuals who have achieved something outstanding through workplace learning.

Proof that Gilesports as a whole has also benefited from Ms Lavender's determination and enthusiasm was demonstrated when the company went on to receive a Welsh award for outstanding achievement in training at a national level.

A rapid store expansion programme fuelled by demand meant that expansion outstripped the pace at which staff were acquiring new skills. This resulted in a shortage of skilled management staff.

The human resources department, headed by Ms Lavender, developed a comprehensive plan to combat this specific problem.

The succession plan was set up to identify those individuals within the company with the potential to take on a supervisory or management role.