The Life Insurance Institute of Canada said Tuesday that Manulife Financial and Co-operators Life Insurance Co. are the winners of the 2003 LIIC Corporate Awards for Best Practices in Learning & Development within the Canadian life, health and financial services industry.

The awards recognize companies that promote excellence in education for the overall improvement of the insurance industry. They were announced Tuesday at the LIIC Annual Conference at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

Manulife was recognized in the large company category for its “Breezing Through Finance” course, which brought small groups together to connect knowledge and life experiences to work-related activities creating a learning map. Several hundred employees completed the program, and a revised program will be rolled out later this year.

Co-operators Life won in the small company category for its “Learning Agreement” program, which developed a simple document linking each employee’s personal training and development plan to their learning agreement. It provides awareness to the employee about why they are attending a workshop and speaks to the accountability of training outcomes.

Runners-up were Manulife for its Management Development Program Centre and Desjardins Financial Security for its Network School.