Cherie Blair Opens New Training Suite

Cherie Booth QC, the wife of the Prime Minister and patron of the charity Victim Support London (VSL), has officially launched VSL’s new training suite of three training rooms and a breakout area at its offices in Finsbury Square, London, and which have been donated, rent free for one year, by Scotia Bank.

VSL’s trainers currently deliver over 50 courses a year to several hundred Victim Support and Witness Service volunteers, as well as delivering courses to external groups such as the Metropolitan Police, London Probation and local community groups. The courses aim to equip people to help those many thousands of people within the London area who become victims of crime.

Among those from the London business community who attended the official launch were Daniel Hanlon and David Field, of training solutions provider, Training Synergy. Hanlon and Field, who were also present as representatives of the UK’s IT training industry, met and chatted to Mrs Blair.

Training Synergy’s managing director, Daniel Hanlon commented: "It was good to meet Cherie Blair, who was particularly interested in how the Private sector can play more of a part in supporting important charities such as VSL.

"Having attended the launch and learnt of some of VSL’s work, we feel that there is a great deal that Training Synergy, along with other IT training providers, can do to support the valuable work that VSL is doing. We’ll be taking this up with industry bodies including the Institute of IT Training and the British Computer Society, as well as pushing for greater collaboration between industry and charities such as VSL."

"Moreover, we would like to develop our relationship with VSL and offer the charity what on-going help and expertise we can," commented Training Synergy’s David Field. "VSL deals with important issues that are likely to affect us, or someone we know, at some time."

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Notes for Editors:

Photographs of Cherie Blair with Training Synergy’s Daniel Hanlon and David Field are available, on request, from Bob Little Press & PR, on 01727 860405 or bob.little@dial.pipex.com.

About Victim Support London

Victim Support is the independent national charity for people affected by crime. Staff and volunteers offer free and confidential information, practical help and emotional support for victims of any crime, whether or not it has been reported and regardless of when it happened. The organisation operates via a network of affiliated local charities, the Witness Service and the Victim Supportline (0845 30 30 900).

Victim Support in London comprises 31 borough-based charities, 50 Witness Services, Victim Support London (VSL) and its Board of Trustees and The London Council.

Victim Support Services in London are primarily delivered through the borough-based Victim Support Schemes, which operate across 33 London boroughs. Victim Support also runs Witness Services in every Magistrates Court and Crown Court in London. The Witness Services offers support to victims, witnesses, their families and friends when attending any of the criminal courts in London.

Each Victim Support Scheme is represented on The London Council, an unincorporated body whose role is to act as a consultative forum for London on all Victim Support policy issues. Representatives from the Council also sit on the board of VSL, the executive body for Victim Support Schemes and Witness Services in London.

About Training Synergy

With over 300 training personnel working on projects across the UK at any one time and a turnover in excess of £10m, Training Synergy - part of the Synergy Group, formed in 1997 and now with an annual turnover of some £40m - is one of the UK’s largest training solutions providers. Training Synergy delivers some 40,000 training days a year and has 7,000 trainers on its database.

Training Synergy provides a range of training services to support all types and size of training programme, from initial consulting right through to project-managed implementation. It also provides logistics and logistical services to support clients’ ongoing training needs.

Its clients include IBM, EDS, Getronics, Unisys, Accenture and Atos Origin.

Training Synergy was placed 15th in this year’s list of the ‘Top 50 IT training companies’, compiled by market analysts IT Skills Research.

Further Information from:
Daniel Hanlon / David Field, Training Synergy, 0800 072 5900 or 020 7556 1140 /1141;
www.trainingsynergy.com
Bob Little, Bob Little Press & PR, 01727 860405; www.boblittlepr.com