THE CALL centre industry in Britain may be under threat but it obviously hasn't affected the morale of Welsh call centre workers.

Hundreds gathered at Cardiff's magnificent City Hall last week for the Welsh Contact Centre Awards.

The industry is said to be worth about £400m a year to the Welsh economy and much of this is concentrated in Gwent and Glamorgan.

This year's awards were hosted by Welsh TV celebrities Amanda Protheroe-Thomas and Kevin Hughes.

The awards recognise exceptional achievements by teams or companies in a labour pool 24,000-strong.

Organised by the Welsh Contact Centre Forum, managing director Sandra Busby said the rapid growth of the industry had forced the forum to add extra award categories.

These in turn helped to engender a record number of entries.

Ms Busby said: "The standard of the competition this year was extremely high and reflects the hard work and dedication of all those who work in the industry.

"The winners and finalists at this year's awards are certainly the cream of the crop.

"The industry is attracting some of the best and most ambitious people in Wales.

"The reason for this is that they can experience excellent working conditions, high salary levels, good career structure and the best staff retention rates in the UK."

David George, operations manager at British Gas and chairman of the forum said: "This year's event is a great night to celebrate not only the achievements of the award winners but also to give those involved in the sector the chance to enjoy being part of a dynamic, exciting and important part of Welsh industry."

Guests were treated to cabaret entertainment on a 1950s Rat Pack theme.

The 50s was chosen to link in with this year's 50th anniversary celebrations of Cardiff becoming the Welsh capital.

A big-band plus dancers from the Funki Feathers Dance Academy in Birming-ham was very easy on the eye and ear.

The awards were judged by Preston-based CallNorth- West a recently-established body for contact centres in the North West of England.

Gwent took three awards including best use of technology for the Dial Contact Centre in Llantarnam Park.

Elizabeth Davies of Newport won the category for best new agent while Hafod Williams who works at PHS in Caerphilly won the title of agent of the year.

The sponsors of the event were headed by cable operator ntl, and included Cardiff council, the Welsh Develop-ment Agency, Logica, Rand-stad Callflex, Plantronics, Joshua International, Legal and General, Cable and Wireless, Morgan Cole and Transphorm.

Caerphilly contact centre worker Hafod Williams was named agent of the year.

He lives in Rhymney and is a customer retention consultant at PHS Group, one of the UK's biggest service providers.

Having previously worked for a benefits agency, Mr Williams admitted he took the contact centre job to be closer to home and never imagined he would find a rewarding career.

He said: "I started working at PHS just over two years ago. My job involves dealing with customer enquiries and I really enjoy talking to people and problem-solving."

Mr Williams has taken advantage of a wide range of training opportunities at PHS including working with Business In The Community and Education Business Partnerships, two initiatives that aim to educate schoolchildren about local businesses and how they work.

He said: "As well as visiting local schools to talk to pupils about my job, I've also achieved my introductory level management qualification and have started a certificate management course at the University of Glamorgan."