Companies across the country are being invited to sign up to the Six Book Challenge this month, and encourage their employees to read six books before June.

National charities the Campaign for Learning and The Reading Agency have joined forces to launch the challenge, which aims to inspire workplace reading ahead of Learning at Work Day 2010 on May 20.

The charities are inviting companies to take up the Six Book Challenge as part of their Learning at Work Day celebrations and be in with a chance of winning a visit from a top author as part of a prize draw.

The annual Six Book Challenge, which starts this month, encourages less confident readers to read six books and record their reading in a diary to receive a certificate on completion.

The charities said getting people to talk about what they have read or want to read can be a great way to break down barriers.

It can lift them out of their daily routine, open up new opportunities and lead to new ideas, all of which contribute to a motivated and successful workforce, the charities added.

Learning At Work Day encourages organisations all over the country to make a public commitment to learning and skills.

Every year, thousands of employees get the chance to try something new that has benefits for both home and work life.

Genevieve Clarke, senior project manager at The Reading Agency, said: “An increasing number of workplaces are finding that the Six Book Challenge engages employees in a new reading habit and gets them thinking about opportunities for improving their skills.”