Skills and Training
Challenging the Senses at Skills Cornwall 2011
Cornish students had their senses truly challenged at this years Skills Cornwall event, held at Carn Brae Leisure Centre on the 19th and 20th October. Approximately 2,000 students, aged 14-19, attended the two day event where over 30 organisations had interactive stands to promote career opportunities across the industrial sectors here in Cornwall.
Cornwall Development Company’s Cornwall Agri-food Council worked in partnership with students currently enrolled on the Food Technology course at Duchy College Stoke Climsland to deliver an engaging activity. The students were able to explain about the content of their course and why they had selected their chosen career pathway with aspirations to work in food and drink in the long term.
Students attending the event were invited to take part in a sensory analysis task distinguishing between various food flavourings without having sight of the product. The students took on the challenge wholeheartedly and demonstrated their awareness of food ingredients and knowledge of food products.
Students were able to speak with staff from Duchy College and to pick up information about careers in the industry. The event was pitched to highlight the varied range of job opportunities within the sector, in particular the links with science based job roles.
For some students the Skills Cornwall Event had been preceded by a classroom visit from a food industry representative which had raised awareness of opportunities and set the scene for consideration of food and drink as a serious and desirable career option.
Riviera Produce – Investing in Skills
Riviera Produce Ltd, based near Hayle produces and packs Cornish cauliflowers, spring greens, broccoli, courgettes and cabbages. The produce is then marketed to many of the major supermarkets, wholesalers, retailers and processors across the South West.
Continuing patterns of strong growth the business is looking towards further investment in infrastructure and processing capacity to expand operations. A strong and professional workforce is essential to meet contract requirements and maintain a quality assured product suitable for stringent requirements of the supermarkets.
The company now employs 115 with a significant proportion of staff from countries such as Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.
A training needs analysis was conducted by the Key Sectors Food and Drink Skills Adviser to identify both the short term and long term skills requirements of staff. Notable gaps in English language were flagged as a priority area in the skills analysis.
Ensuring that staff are working safely, and efficiently, is of primary importance to Management at Riviera. Poor language skills present a real barrier to employees not only in the work place but also within their day to day home life. Simple tasks such as confirming work rotas and booking doctors appointments can be challenging.
With support from the Key Sectors Food & Drink Project, managed by Cornwall Agri-food Council (hosted within Cornwall Development Company) 3 separate providers of English training were invited to make proposals and quote for the delivery of training. This allowed the Management team to consider a range of options and select the proposal which would fit most appropriately with their business requirements.
The Cornwall College Skills for Work team were resultantly chosen to deliver the English training. They were able to start delivery immediately, over the slightly quieter winter months. Cornwall College worked closely with the Management Team at Riviera to develop a tailored course integrating appropriate vocabulary (names of vegetables, health and safety vocabulary) and material contextualised to the work environment.
17 employees self-selected to take part in the training overall. The Entry Level English course was delivered very flexibly with intervals in training when workloads were high or staff were unavailable. To prevent disruption to the working day the training was delivered in the evenings on site so no additional travel was required.
Due to the relatively low language ability levels of the learners the funding (ESF and Skills Funding Agency Co-financed) was used to invest in an interpreter to attend the first 6 sessions. The interpreter supported the learners and made sure instructions were fully understood. This notably reduced anxiety and helped to build confidence amongst the staff.
The training was suspended for 8 weeks whilst requirements of a large contract were met but resumed again in the Spring. The course is now complete and the learners have taken their assessments. Out of the 17 learners to start the course 12 completed the final exam with 10 staff achieving a successful outcome.
Due to the impact of the course and interest from staff the business is currently investigating the opportunities for staff to progress to the Entry Level 2 English Award.
David Simmons, Owner and Manager of Riviera Produce explained ‘the service provided has been ideal. In particular the attention to detail in getting the training designed for the specific requirements of the staff and business has been very valuable. The Management Team have reported improvements in communication skills. A number of the staff have already enquired about taking further lessons. Overall it’s been a very worthwhile activity’.
Food Representatives Visit Secondary Schools
As part of a programme of activity a number of visits to secondary schools (year 10 and 11 food technology students) were made by owners of Cornish food businesses. Angela Parker of Callestick Ice Cream and Phil Ugalde from Proper Cornish were the first two businesses to have taken an active role in the project. Additional businesses have agreed to support the programme as activity is rolled out to more schools in 2011.
The visits were extremely successful. The business owners provided the students with information about the nature of the food sector in Cornwall and the responsibilities involved in starting up and running a business. In particular the business representatives informed and inspired the students with ideas about possible careers and job roles available to young people within the food industry. The product tasting tasks were also very well received by all!
With the students poised to make key decisions concerning the direction of their own careers, the presentations highlighted the exciting opportunities available within the food sector to young people prepared to work hard and learn new skills.
Rachael Martin, Food Technology Teacher at St. Ives Technology College said: ‘The morning was a real success. It was incredibly interesting for the students to learn not only about food manufacturing, which is directly liked to curriculum material, but also to gain an understanding of the issues that really impact on the running of a small business’.
Support for Food and Drink Businesses in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly
Food and drink businesses are receiving flexible training to meet their specific business needs via the ESF (European Social Fund) Convergence Programme. The aim is to develop a skilled, flexible workforce to strengthen a sector that already has a reputation for producing a broad range of high quality products.
The Key Sectors project has received almost £8.5 million of ESF Convergence and Skills Funding Agency investment, and is being delivered by the Learning Partnership for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. Food and Drink is one of 13 sectors involved and has £600,000 of that ESF total to invest by July 2011.
The support is aimed at smaller businesses that undertake food processing or manufacturing but there is also an allocation for larger companies. Funding is available for National Vocational Qualifications which will be fully funded. Short course qualifications and bespoke training such as food safety training, HACCP, cheesemaking courses, auditing skills, fish filleting, butchery, sausage making, customer service, employment law, sales skills and ICT will be funded 25-100%. Skills for Life (numeracy and literacy) and ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) training will also be fully funded. The programme will value to the mainstream offering to create a training package to best suit the business. Support for additional workshops, training release allowances, and travel expenses can be provided by the Convergence programme.
Mark Williams, ESF Director for the Skills Funding Agency said: “It has never been more important to ensure that workers in key industries like food and drink have the skills and training required to keep their businesses profitable in an increasingly competitive market. The Skills Funding Agency is very pleased to be able to provide a significant amount of ESF money to make that happen.”
David Rodda, Senior Agir-food Co-ordinator, CAC said: “The Convergence programme has a substantial budget for investing in the development of skills within the food and drink sector. By joining up the different funding initiatives we hope to deliver packages of training that really meet business needs with support for both accredited and bespoke training.”
95 businesses in Cornwall have so far received support. One of the businesses to have benefited is Drinkmaster, an innovative sealed drinks manufacturer, based near Liskeard. Drinkmaster received assistance through both ESF and ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) Convergence investment. Seven members of staff were supported through a short course qualification in food safety. The training was tailored to meet the needs of both the employees and company with six employees receiving the training in house and one attending a course at college. One member of staff is now taking a level 4 NVQ in supply chain management and one a level 2 NVQ in distribution, warehousing and storage operations.
The costs of training were supported through Train to Gain and in this case additional investment through the Convergence Programme enabled a training release allowance to be provided to the business to support time away from production. Drinkmaster has also received 2 days of fully funded business support from a professional consultant - through the ERDF Sector Transition Fund, a separate project also managed by the Cornwall Agr-food Council.
Margaret Bunton, the Quality Assurance Manager who herself completed a microbiology for a non-microbiologist course said: “The chance to complete these courses at a local venue such as ‘Duchy College’ is such a plus. The saving to companies in terms of time away from ones desk, travelling expenses and last but not least the cost of the course itself, makes it a winner, and puts it within the reach of most businesses. This is the level of support a company like Drinkmaster needs to keep it abreast of new ideas and regulations. All of the training Drinkmaster employees have received has helped us in our quest to gain our BRC global standard food issue 5 accreditation which I am pleased to say we achieved this month”.
For more information about the funding available please contact:
Angie Shepherd, Skills Advisor, 01209 722123 / 07771 807340, angela.shepherd@duchy.ac.uk or Emma Kehyaian, 01209 616092
Grow Cornwall - Opportunities for Food and Drink Businesses
A new coaching initiative, from the Grow Cornwall Team, is aimed at unlocking the potential of high growth organisations. The program provides expert business coaching to micro, small and medium sized businesses across Cornwall and the IOS.
If you are a food and drink processor, producing an added value product, you could be eligible to access up to 30 days of bespoke business coaching from an experienced industry professional. The coaches all have extensive and proven experience of growing successful enterprises.
The coaching team boasts both a diverse and specialist skills base. The areas which may be of interest to your business include a strategic view of marketing, understanding financial performance, developing leadership and improving operational efficiency.
The program is funded by the convergence program, managed via SWRDA and delivered by Oxford Innovation. The coaching relationship is unique to each organisation and the level of time commitment you would like to make, is agreed by consultation with your coach.
To discuss the opportunities in more detail contact Grow Cornwall on 01872 300116, or to read more about the project visit the Grow Cornwall website:
http://www.growcornwall.co.uk/
