ONE of the North-East's fastest-growing companies has seen more than 100 of its employees gain extra qualifications.

One hundred and ten staff at engineering firm The Tanfield Group, based in Washington, Wearside, have achieved Level 2 NVQs in business improvement techniques, a feat which has already shown signs of benefiting the company.

Tanfield said that shorter downtimes, significant cost savings and increased productivity are just some of the improvements made as a direct result of this training.

The Tanfield Group - a world-leader in the manufacturer of zero-emission electric vehicles and aerial work platforms - sees providing its shop floor staff with recognised skills as an integral part of taking the company forward.

The programme has been carried out for the company by Team Valley's QGS Synergy, which was tasked with helping build a leaner workforce and finding ways of exceeding customer expectations.

QGS Synergy based six of its trainers on the Vigo Centre site, working with staff to help them achieve the aims and objectives of the NVQ.

Phil Wood, Tanfield's continuous improvement engineer, said: "This has been a major success for us. It does not only help us as a company, but it has helped the staff to be much more professional and proactive."