Nationwide has appointed Paul Simons as Training and Development Manager. He joins the powered access rental company from truck rental, contract hire and logistics company, Ryder Plc, where he was Training and Development Manager for almost ten years.

Paul, 47, began his training career with consumer goods company, Smith and Nephew, in 1987. He then joined international courier, Federal Express, in 1989 before moving to Ryder Plc. He will be responsible for both internal and external training within Nationwide, which is the country's largest powered access rental company with more than 50 depots spread across the country.

At the moment, Nationwide runs an NVQ [National Vocational Qualification] scheme, which includes courses in customer care and sales. However, Paul is intending to add a management NVQ course to help support the development of the company's management team. He will also continue to expand the company's training courses for operators of powered access equipment, which are recognised by both the CITB [Construction Industry Training Board] under the Certificate of Training Achievement [CITB/CTA] and the IPAF [International Powered Access Federation].

"I am looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead and to supporting the achievement of our business objectives through the training and development of our people," says Paul Simons.

Nationwide is headquartered in Lutterworth, Leicestershire. Its hire fleet is twice the size of its nearest UK competitor and all of the company's depots comply with the Nationwide's ISO 9002 accreditation. The Lavendon Group is also the European market leader in powered access, trading under the name Zooom in Germany, France, Spain and Austria.

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May 2002 Nat2.032a