One Million Employees Get Skills Boost With Train To Gain
Employee Management Articles
Submit Articles Back to Articles
Issued on 04 March 2010
The number of people gaining a qualification through the Train to Gain
programme has hit the one million mark, the Government announced today.
The millionth learner, Chris Scott, a process operator at chemical
manufacturer William Blythe Ltd, in Accrington, completed his level 2 NVQ in
Business Improvement Techniques on January 29 this year.
Chris’s work involves manufacturing chemicals and handling finished
materials. He is one of 62 people at William Blythe Ltd to have completed a
qualification through Train to Gain.
Skills Minister Kevin Brennan said:
“This is a great achievement for the programme and for each of the one
million people who have now gained a qualification that will help them get on at
work. With new skills they can further their own careers and make a significant
impact on the business they work for.
“Train to Gain has been hugely effective and both learners and employers have
seen the benefits. Chris’s hard work and determination is a great example of the
results the programme can have and the rewards that are there for employers who
invest in their workforce.”
Chris said:
“Learning new skills on the job and working on projects in teams has helped
us to quickly make improvements to the way we work. We all feel pleased to have
got this qualification and if it allows us to win new business then it will be a
success all round.”
Tim Hughes, Managing Director, William Blythe Ltd, said:
“Training our workforce in this way has been a good business decision. All
businesses are going to increasingly rely on the skills of their employees if
they are to compete effectively in the future.
“This investment has provided the skills needed to improve problem solving,
teamwork and continuous improvement across the business. I am proud of the
achievement made by our employees.”
In a recent LSC survey of employers who use the training initiative, 80 per
cent said they were likely to recommend Train to Gain to other employers and use
it again themselves. A significant number of employers (41 per cent) also said
Train to Gain had helped them cope with the recession.
Geoff Russell, LSC Chief Executive said:
“Congratulations to Chris Scott, the one millionth learner, and to his
employer William Blythe Ltd. Train to Gain has made a real difference to
employers and more than three-quarters of all businesses say using Train to Gain
gave their workforce valuable job-related skills and resulted in increased
performance.
“Businesses like William Blythe benefit from better motivated, more skilled
and more committed staff. This leads to better services and products, which is
crucial for long-term competitiveness.
“I’m delighted that employees like Chris are benefiting from gaining
qualifications through Train to Gain. Businesses like William Blythe Ltd are not
only accessing the benefits of Train to Gain to invest in the skills the economy
needs now and in the future, but reaffirming their commitment to training their
workforce by making their own investment in further training.”
More than 175,000 employers have now been engaged through Train to Gain
brokerage services. In 2010-11, the Government plans to invest nearly £1 billion
through Train to Gain, building on the £38 billion that employers are already
investing in training each year.
Notes
Skills Minister Kevin Brennan will meet with Chris Hughes and Tim Hughes
today at the Integrated Employment and Skills event at the QEII Conference
Centre in Westminster. The minister’s speech from this event will be available
on the BIS website. The LSC published two reports in February containing the
results of employer and learner surveys of Train to Gain. These reports can be
found here: www.lsc.gov.uk. Statistics on Train to Gain are published in the
series Statistical First Release: Post 16 Education & Skills: Learner
Participation and Outcomes. The latest copy can be found at:
www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/sfrdec09.Figures published in December
showed that there was a cumulative total of 960,000 Train to Gain achievements
up until October 2009. The next edition of this Release will be published on the
25th March, and will include information on Train to Gain up to the end of
January 2010. LSC research has recently identified the one millionth achiever in
Train to Gain.Launched in 2006 and managed by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC),
Train to Gain is the Government’s flagship service to support employers in
England, of all sizes, and in all sectors, to improve the skills of their
employees, unlock talent and drive improved business performance. A key element
of Train to Gain are Business Link Advisors who offer employers impartial advice
and at no cost, helping them to find the best training solution from
high-quality and responsive training.
6. Train to Gain is now part of the Solutions for Business portfolio - a
streamlined suite of government-funded support products for businesses
accessible via Business Link.
7. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills published Skills for
Growth – the National Skills Strategy in November 2009, which sets out an
ambitious vision for giving people and businesses the skills they need to help
drive economic growth. The Government will create a modern class of technicians
through a dramatic expansion of advanced apprenticeships, creating 35,000 new
places over the next two years. For further information, see: http://www.bis.gov.uk/skillsforgrowth
8. For more information contact BIS press office on 020 7215 5951.
Case study:
Founded in 1845 William Blythe Ltd is a manufacturer of inorganic chemicals
intended for use in a broad spectrum of industrial applications, including
pharmaceutical, electronics, glass production, food stuffs and biocidal
preparations. Based in Church, Accrington the company has 80 employees. William
Blythe Ltd is part of Yule Catto, the leading chemicals group.
Challenges
Before the recession the company made some tough choices as manufacturing and
the chemicals industry were facing ever increasing competition from suppliers
across the globe. The business was built around lower margin commodity products
but, with the customer base consolidating or moving east, the business was
suffering. The company refocused on higher value, application knowledge based
products which resulted in a reorganisation including a thorough assessment of
the skills of the workforce. Management decided to improve the core competencies
of the workforce to support their market ambitions. As a result of this strategy
William Blythe Ltd is weathering the economic storm and developing the business
as an increasingly specialised manufacturer and supplier into its markets
worldwide.
Aims
The company wanted to create a common culture within the organisation for
continuous improvement, which was a crucial element if it was to realise its
ambition to refocus on higher value knowledge based products.
Process
William Blythe Ltd employed the services of the Process Industries Centre for
Manufacturing Excellence Engineers. PICME is a DTI (now BIS) sponsored
initiative using the 5C approach to improving manufacturing excellence. Through
Sysco and Partnership for Learning the company was able to access the Train to
Gain funding and support which made this reorganisation possible.
Benefits to the employer
The company has noticed a closer team spirit, improved flexibility and a more
productive operation. The tools and techniques learnt are being used to improve
standards across the business. Putting the majority of the workforce through
Level 2 NVQ in Business Improvement Techniques (BIT) has given employees the
ability to work as effective teams in problem solving and improvement
activities. The immediate benefit has been seen in the speed and manner in which
problems are handled.
Tim Hughes, Managing Director, William Blythe Ltd:
“Training our workforce in this way has been a good business decision. All
businesses are going to increasingly rely on the skills of their employees if
they are to compete effectively in the future. This investment has provided the
skills needed to improve problem solving, teamwork and continuous improvement
across the business. I am proud of the achievement made by our employees.”
Commitment to training
The company released people to undertake the training, and funded all of
PICME's expenses. This represented about 200hrs/person away from their job. Out
of 80 employees 64 undertook the BIT Level 2 NVQ. 62 successfully gained their
qualification with two only missing out due to long term absence.
Roy Pickthall, Operations Director, William Blythe Ltd:
“We have recognised the value of continuous training and will be wholly
funding 12 of those who gained their Level 2 NVQ to continue to Level 3. The
focus will be on embedding the Level 2 learning in a series of improvement
projects with a target of £500K impact on the business.”
Benefits to the learner
All the trainees have gained a qualification where many had no previous
formal qualification. They have been offered the opportunity to have a greater
impact on the business and generally feel more engaged in the future of the
company. The training was offered across the company from cleaners to quality
managers, including operators, technicians, engineers and lab staff. The company
feels that this had widespread impact across the business, as well as a positive
effect on the individuals involved.
Chris Scott, a process operator at William Blythe Ltd was the 1,000,000 th
person to benefit from the Train to Gain programme. “Learning new skills on the
job and working on projects in teams has helped to us to quickly make
improvements to the way we work. We all feel pleased to have got this
qualification and if it allows us to win new business then it will be a success
all round.”
TIM HUGHES is the Managing Director of William Blythe Ltd. He has been MD for
12 months but has been in the chemical industry mainly in the UK for his whole
career. He says Train to Gain is a good business decision and this is the second
company in which he has used this training programme. A culture change was
needed at William Blythe Ltd to allow them to focus on speciality products and
that meant the skills level of the workforce had to improve. He sees this as a
typical situation for UK manufacturing industry, and the UK chemical industry in
particular, as new and often low-cost competitors appear from the emerging
economies with access to global customers. This means there’s an increasing need
for specialisation and to achieve that you need better skills and knowledge and
a better trained workforce.
CHRIS SCOTT is an employee with William Blythe Ltd. He is 24, has been with
the company since 2007 and has been in the chemical industry for 7 years. He is
a process operator, a chemicals-based job which involves manufacturing chemicals
and handling the finished materials. He has 9 GCSEs and passed his NVQ last
year. Chris was able to complete his training following the temporary
flexibilities added to the programme last year to help small businesses use
Train to Gain during the recession.
For further information the case studies, please contact LSC press office on
02476 82 3515.
Department for Business, Innovation & Skills
About the Author
© Crown Copyright. Material taken from the Department for
Business, Innovation & Skills. Reproduced under the terms and conditions of the
Click-Use Licence.
Follow us @Scopulus_News
Article Published/Sorted/Amended on Scopulus 2010-03-07 19:01:13 in Employee Articles
