Hospital porters often feel so little valued in their jobs that they are uninterested even in training that could get them out of their rut. In an attempt to change what he considered an underlying negative perception regarding portering, in 1999, the author founded the Porters 2000 forum. As the chair, and with the support of members, he wrote to the Government highlighting the unacceptable lack of vocational qualifications for hospital porters. At the time, no National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) were available for portering. The letter led to a question in the House of Commons, and, eventually, to the development of a NVQ level 2 specifically for hospital porters. The author would like to see a further development of the NVQ level 2 into a level 3 NVQ. To his mind, because porters are responsible for patients in transit, the best strategy would be to look at elements of the existing NVQ level 3 undertaken by healthcare assistants and develop or incorporate these with further developed or expanded units from the current porters' NVQ into a higher-level portering NVQ. This would support the provision of an even more comprehensive portering service, and alleviate the shortage of ward staff for escorting patients safely, as one benefit. Just as importantly, it would give further opportunity to portering staff for development and career progression.