Cognisco, a global employee assessment company, is partnering with Develop Training (www.developtraining.co.uk), one of the UK's largest technical skills training provider, to launch a series of specialised assessments to improve the skills and competency levels of three million Utility sector workers involved in public highway works or street works and help them meet new industry standards being introduced in April 2011.

The assessments will help the SWQR card holders attain the new rigorous NRSWA (New Roads and Street Works Act) reassessment standards and pass the City and Guilds examinations being introduced next year. Card holders will be required to pass the City and Guilds examination prior to a new card being issued at expiry. Failure could result in employee downtime which could delay work on the public highways, incur financial losses and impact company performance.

David Warburton, Street works manager from Develop Training comments, "The new NRSWA assessments are rigorous and without additional training, a great number of SWQR card holders could potentially fail the reassessments . We want to work with Utility companies to prepare employees for the new regulations and exams in advance of April 2011 and minimise the risk of employee downtime."

"We are delighted to partner with Cognisco to launch a series of customised assessments to prepare Utility workers for the new regulations. The assessments will cover the 16 units that SWQR card holders can attain. They will enable customers for the first time to measure accurately the skills and weaknesses of SWQR card holders, uncover their individual training and development needs and prepare them fully for the exam. This approach will ensure workers will be fit to practice in the new regulatory environment from day one," added David.

Cognisco's assessments measure accurately the skills, knowledge and confidence of employees by placing them in typical on the job scenarios and assessing how they react or behave. The assessments highlight individual skills gaps and potential development needs immediately enabling companies to deliver more targeted employee training that will improve performance and reduce risk quickly in the working environment.

The assessments will cover the 16 Units that can be attained by street card workers. The first commissioned modules will focus on Units 1 to 6, and in particular Unit 2 "Signing, Lighting & Guarding" which is due to be launched to the Utility industry in January 2011.

Mary Clarke, CEO at Cognisco, added: "We are delighted to announce this alliance partnership with Develop Training and to launch a programme of specialised assessments for Utility workers. Our assessment tools complement the extensive training programmes offered by Develop Training for organisations in the Utility sector. This is a great opportunity to improve the skills and competencies of the significant number of SWQR card holders in the UK and enable them to meet the regulatory requirements of the NRSWA by April 2011."

About Develop Training:

Develop Training Limited is the leading technical skills training provider in the UK, has a turnover in excess of £15m and employs 150 staff (including over 75 full time trainers).

Originating in 2000, Develop operate through six Training Centres across the UK offering training, consultancy and assessment programmes across all industry sectors. Clients include major utility, construction and facilities management companies, as well as public sector bodies such as the NHS, councils and the Ministry of Defence.

Develop provides training from apprenticeship level to post professional development offering in excess of 400 open and bespoke courses.

As part of ongoing investment in maintaining its position at the forefront the technical training sector, Develop is investing in behavioural training and has created a revolutionary new leadership program called MaTE ‘Managing a Technical Environment'.

About Cognisco: (www.cognisco.com)

Cognisco is the world's leading intelligent ‘employee assessment' specialist providing bespoke, online assessment programmes which measure employees' understanding, misunderstanding and competence in areas important to an organisation's overall operational performance and business objectives. Cognisco works with some of the world's leading blue chip companies in over 150 countries and 31 languages, providing global employee assessment solutions with local insight.

These assessment programmes produce unique, insightful, precise data which enable identification of employees who may be putting the organisation at risk - or may in future - and enables an organisation to make informed choices about how to mitigate against the risks identified.

• WebMD Announces Online Channel To Help Medicare Beneficiaries Access New Medicare Prescription Drug Options
• IBM to Help Businesses Better Compete Against Industry Rivals
• ComponentOne(R) Announces Doc-To-Help 2006 v3.1 - New Release Offers Support for Windows Vista and the 2007 Microsoft Office System including Seamless Integration with Word 2007