Gripple

Posted: 16/12/2009

National recognition for our commitment to language training

The 2009 Business Language Champion (BLC) Awards - a prestigious event that recognises businesses from around the country for their involvement and commitment to supporting language learning in education – was held recently in the Imagination Gallery in the heart of London’s West End. Having shown exceptional devotion to supporting language learning in our local area, we were delighted to be highly commended in the Outstanding Commitment category.

Many of our employees are multi-lingual, and we are capable of communicating in fourteen of the world's most commonly spoken languages. As a member of the BLC scheme run by the National Centre for Languages (CILT), Gripple is partnered with Sheffield's Meadowhead School and Language College to encourage its language students to appreciate the importance of foreign languages within the business sector, as well as to their own future careers.

For more than three years, we have worked closely with students on a number of collaborative projects, such as creating audio tapes and information packs in various languages. The award was presented to Gripple's office sales manager, Emma Hibbert, who, as a fluent French and German speaker, is the main link between the company and the school.

One of the CILT awards' judges, Ben Hackett from the Department for Children, Schools and Families, commented: “Gripple has built up a fantastic relationship with the school with which it is partnered, setting up a range of activities from work experience to after-school clubs, and dedicating a lot of resources towards the initiative.”