Our learning and development programme has one key focus - to ensure our employees have the right skills to help us change energy.

The programme is all-encompassing and includes leadership and management development, professional training, and operational and technical training.

We have in place a performance management process that enables employees to discuss their development needs with their line manager, both in relation to their current job and possible future roles.

We offer a comprehensive online programme of learning opportunities accessible through Academy Online, our online facility that provides access, guidance and support for all learning.

During 2005/6, 190 of our senior leaders participated in a tailored 'Challenge of Leadership' programme. In 2007 we used the flagship programmes from the E.ON Academy (our corporate university) to offer strategic and personal leadership development supported by one-to-one executive coaching. By the close of the year, 255 of our managers had participated in our middle management leadership development programme 'A Call to Arms'. This programme is similar to the successful 'Challenge of Leadership' and is focused on the next layer of leadership across our organisation.

A number of our businesses developed functional academies, providing employees with access to professional development in a number of important areas, including human resources and procurement. Functional academies offer professional development to specific functions or teams that enable them to increase their competence in meeting our business objectives.

We also support employees in furthering their education and obtaining professional qualifications. This support can range from providing time off for courses and study, to support with learning materials and the payment of tuition and exam fees.

We are committed to recruiting new employees and increasing the capabilities of our existing employees to meet the annual work programming requirements. To achieve this, we have in place a number of industry-leading programmes.

In March 2007 we launched our Engineering Academy in direct response to the engineering skills crisis which is affecting most of the engineering sectors within the UK. The Academy brings together engineering resourcing, development and training expertise, allowing us to concentrate on making sure we have enough engineers with the right skills to meet the future needs of our business. We've developed a number of initiatives to increase our engineering resource talent pool since the launch of the Academy last March. These include:

• The development of a new suite of engineering qualifications aligned to the new Qualification and Credit Framework (previously NVQs), in partnership with Walsall College of Art & Technology
• A foundation degree programme in electrical power engineering developed with Aston University
• Young apprenticeships to provide schoolchildren between the ages of 14 and 16 the opportunity to experience 50 days of practical and theoretical training within our company. This Government-sponsored programme is undertaken whilst the youngsters are completing their GCSEs
• Women in Engineering events to enable female students to have 'hands-on' experience of engineering activities to encourage them to consider engineering as a career

We are one of the prime movers behind the 'IET Power Academy' in collaboration with the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) and a consortium of major energy companies. The Power Academy is a practical scheme that aims to reverse the decline in engineering student numbers by sponsoring promising scholars to take degrees in power-related engineering courses at six leading engineering universities: Southampton, Manchester, Strathclyde, Queens University in Belfast, Imperial College London, and Cardiff. We currently have 22 scholars on the programme and three of these will be joining our graduate scheme in 2008.

Our apprenticeship programme has gained the Institution of Engineering and Techology EngTech professional accreditation in 2006. In 2007, we recruited 52 people to train as electrical, gas, mechanical and technical apprentices. The programme offers four years' on-the-job experience supported by the chance to study for a professional qualification, and a National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) in a relevant engineering discipline. In 2008, we aim to recruit a further 68 apprentices.

Our distribution business also recruits adults who want to retrain as skilled craftspeople. The programme lasts for approximately two years and participants have full access to the training and development they require to qualify and work on our electricity distribution network. In 2007 we recruited a number of unqualified adults, offering them the opportunity to obtain the relevant skills through training, whilst working alongside our skilled craftspeople in a supporting capacity. Candidates who wish to develop further may be given the chance to retrain as a craftsperson, once they've gained a significant amount of experience on our electricity network.

To boost our skills pool, we recruited 12 ex-apprentice technicians from our parent company in Germany in 2007, where there is currently an oversupply of good candidates. Their development programme lasts for about two years and they are given access to appropriate training courses and the opportunity to gain the experience they need to transfer their skills from one country to another. Our intention is to offer further recruitment opportunities to our German colleagues throughout 2008.

We're also committed to increasing the skills of a number of new and existing employees, to assist them in becoming fully qualified project managers. This programme lasts for a minimum of 18 months with the training consisting of a combination of academic and on the job learning. There are currently 18 employees training on this scheme and we intend to recruit a further 10 in 2008.

We recognise that graduates are a key talent source for leadership potential so our schemes operate a dual development framework. We support graduates in their pursuit of professional qualifications, including chartership status for our engineers, CIMA for our management accountants, CIPS for our procurement team or CIPD for our human resources graduates. We also offer a tailored core development framework to provide the skills and behavioural development that our graduates need to support them as they progress through our company. In 2007, we welcomed 35 graduates into the business, across 10 schemes: corporate management, finance, supply chain, information technology, engineering (three courses) and technology & innovation.