ThirdForce Wins Skills for Life Contract With Whitbread

LONDON - ThirdForce PLC, a provider of technology-enabled learning
solutions and services has announced today that after a highly successful
pilot project they have won the contract to become the exclusive supplier of
Skills for Life provision to Whitbread PLC, the UK’s largest hotel and
restaurant group. Whitbread brands include: Premier Inn, Beefeater, Table
Table, Brewers Fayre, Taybarns and Costa Coffee.

The successful contract win follows on from the astonishing
results that were achieved in the pilot scheme at 16 sites. The pilot
delivered unprecedented numbers of learners completing literacy and numeracy
diagnostics and significant numbers completing the final National Skills for
Life exam in a short period of time.

The full rollout will now take place at all 937 Whitbread
hotel and restaurant sites nationally, with the aim of supporting 1000
learners through to both their Literacy and Numeracy qualifications.
Whitbread signed up to the Skills Pledge in 2007 and has successfully
developed their own ‘Whitbread Apprenticeship Programme’ with Skills for Life
qualifications being used to provide a large element of the Key Skills
provision in the innovative ‘Whitbread Model’ approach to Apprenticeship and
NVQ delivery.

Delivery of the Skills for Life provision is outsourced to
ThirdForce who delivers the provision through an innovative blended
solution:- ThirdForce e-learning content is used to successfully underpin
Skills for Life delivery and the learners are fully supported by a team of
dedicated professional Learning Support Managers (LSMs), who provide the
necessary on-site additional guidance, support and assessment for learners in
the workplace, as appropriate. The ThirdForce el-box(TM) touch screen tablet
PC delivery method enables Whitbread to facilitate anywhere, anytime access
to learning for employees.

Alan Maguire Managing Director of ThirdForce commented
“ThirdForce is both proud and delighted to have been selected as Skills for
Life partner in Whitbread’s ground-breaking apprenticeship programme. We
share the Whitbread vision that learning & skills assume even greater
importance in these challenging times and that the right partners using the
best technology and people can deliver on that vision better than any other
solution.”

The ThirdForce Skills for Life solution enabled Whitbread to
confidently outsource the entire Skills for Life delivery requirement of
their NVQ/Apprenticeship programme and has resulted in significantly faster
completion times and learner engagement compared with more traditional
methods of Skills for Life delivery.

Notes to Editors

The ‘Whitbread Model’

The programme comprises three sections - a National Vocational
Qualification (NVQ) Level 2, key skills qualifications in application of
number and communication and an Employment Responsibility Rights (ERR)
project. The programme will take half the time to complete versus a standard
Apprenticeship, with most team members now taking 6 months instead of 12, as
the work required to complete the course is included in Whitbread’s standard
induction programme. Successful completion will mean that team members will
receive four certificates - an NVQ Level 2, two Key Skills certificates, an
ERR and an Apprenticeship.

Whitbread PLC Whitbread PLC is the UK’s largest hotel and
restaurant group operating market-leading businesses in the budget hotels and
restaurant sectors. Its well-loved brands are Premier Inn, Beefeater, Table
Table, Brewers Fayre, Taybarns and Costa Coffee.

Whitbread PLC employs over 33,000 people and serves 9 million
customers every month in its 1,800 outlets across the UK.

In the first half of the financial year ended 28th August
2008, Whitbread PLC reported a 12.6% increase in Group Revenue to GBP682.2
million and 24% increase in Pre-tax Profit to GBP123.3 million.

Whitbread PLC is a FTSE 100 company, listed on the London
Stock Exchange. It is also a member of the FTSE4Good Index.

ThirdForce PLC

With over 25 years experience, ThirdForce Plc, is a leading
independent e-learning solutions provider, with a proven track record in
delivering state of the art, technology enabled e-learning solutions to over
17 million learners in leading companies in the commercial, hospitality,
education, government and healthcare sectors.

Blending technology, multimedia and pedagogy into unique
learning experiences that lift performance and raise standards, ThirdForce
provides a wide portfolio of e-learning solutions including IT Certification
courses, Compliance training and Business Skills.

e-learning courses and assessments prove to be highly cost
effective and change the way our clients do business. The ThirdForce business
model is flexible to the needs of each client, avoiding a ‘one size fits all’
approach. The extremely user friendly interface, makes the e-learning content
challenging, rewarding, relevant and, motivational.

ThirdForce plc is a global e-learning company, with commercial
headquarters in London, Dublin and Columbus Ohio, with a regional office in
Canada. It is listed on both AIM and IEX; further details are available at
www.thirdforce.com

Source: ThirdForce PLC

Ingrid O’Sullivan, +353-1-2891989, iosullivan at thirdforce.com