Only weeks after winning the IPPM Innovation Award 2004, HRD & Payroll Solutions, national provider of HR and payroll training courses and learning programmes, has won the award for the Best Payroll Support Technology of the Year at Pay Awards 2004.

In September, the Innovation Award was presented by the Institute of Payroll and Pensions Management to HRDPS as "the company that had furthered the progress of Payroll or Pensions through technical innovation". The e-learning payroll qualification courses, introduced in 2002 by HRDPS, enable payroll staff to achieve BTEC/Edexcel qualifications at four different levels. These Internet-based programmes provide an opportunity for students in locations as remote as the Isles of Scilly to gain a recognised payroll qualification.

On the night of Monday, 15 November, at the Pay Awards ceremony held at the London Marriott Grosvenor Square Hotel, HRDPS repeated their earlier success by winning the award for the Best Payroll Support Technology of the Year. This is one of ten prestigious annual awards that acknowledge professional excellence in the payroll industry in the UK.

This award recognises the technology that has been developed specifically by HRDPS to deliver their e-learning courses. Initially, HRDPS considered various commercial e-learning delivery systems but none had the functionality to support the many features that were felt to be essential for effective blended learning. The decision was therefore made to develop the system in-house and, during the subsequent implementation of the more advanced payroll modules and the development of HR Management qualification courses, the system has grown into a sophisticated and responsive learning tool.

Everyone involved in the project, including the technical development team, were present at the award ceremony to hear HRDPS announced as the winner of the Support Technology award. They are proud of the recognition that this award brings to the hard work, commitment and ingenuity that was involved in creating this unique approach to the achievement of payroll qualifications.