Example of Programme undertaken

Programme Details
During 2007, the Training Manager of a large Midlands bakery company invited PILOT to deliver a comprehensive workforce training programme. This was to cover food manufacture, health and safety and quality assurance. The purpose was to improve the emnployees’ awareness of legislative requirement and current good practice and to confirm competence at performing work operations to national standards and the company's own procedures. This was to be achieved using City and Guilds manufacturing NVQs that were the most relevant to each individual.

Specific requirements for the training were: a) to achieve standardisation of operational activities throughout the workforce, b) to develop the skills of any new labour intake, c) to cover the whole mix of activities from selecting ingredients to packing and quality assurance, d) to improve English language skills specific to the requirements of the manufacturing processes.

Preparation
The Company operates a large bakery, with over 500 employees on site, working in numerous operational departments which perform a variety of processes to produce a broad range of products. A permanent multi-shift system is employed at the site, with operations designed around a variety of production lines. Both factors created an access problem for PILOT’s Trainer /Assessors, providing very limited access time with each learner and requiring evening contact with those on the afternoon shift.

Many of the employees were of overseas origin, some with fairly limited basic English. PILOT responded to this situation by recruiting and allocating to the project team Trainer/Assessors with the relevant specific language skills. This enabled the course participants to have appropriate support in their various mother tongues, thus aiding both their understanding and learning. This language support was provided in Hindi, Polish and Punjabi.

Attention to hygiene at the site is paramount and rigid procedures are followed throughout the organisation. Our team of Trainer/Assessors received a full induction into the Company’s policies and procedures before commencing delivery of the NVQ programme.

Course Delivery
Delivery of the training programme commenced in early 2008. The majority of the production operatives have undertaken the more general level 2 courses, “Performing Manufacturing Operations” or “Packaging Operations”, as these cover a wide range of the operational activities. A group of more senior operatives followed the specific “Process Bakery” path to achieve the City and Guilds’ more specialised Food Manufacture NVQ. The courses were run under the LSC’s national “Train to Gain” initiative.

A separate course was also established for a group of line managers, who undertook the Institute of Leadership and Management’s Award in First Line Management Level 3 qualification. Delivery of this course included a series of knowledge Workshops, where the principles of management were explored and considered in relation to the Company’s operations. Practical working experience was thus a significant element of this qualification.

Outcomes
Despite the on-site features described above, the course participants gained their qualifications throughout 2008 and 2009. The Company has been rewarded with improved timekeeping, increased attention to production quality, reductions in absenteeism and staff churn, renewed Health and Safety awareness, improvements in team working skills and improvement suggestions from shop floor operatives.

Operators undertaking packaging operations being observed in the Steam Room Packing area.

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