We have seen in recent months that great people make great organisations. This was particularly prevalent in the food sector, where, despite huge spikes in demand and risks to the health and safety of staff, our shelves were kept fully stocked with vital supplies.

As we slowly emerge from the pandemic and restrictions are being lifted, food production, distribution and retail services are faced with workplace restrictions, labour shortages and the onboarding of new inexperienced staff, and changes to internal procedures. At the same time, maintaining staff competence and skills training may have slipped as a priority.  

However, it is essential that managers don’t push the pause button on staff development or maintaining technical competence levels. Businesses that are more agile, more creative, and more people-centric are likely to be better positioned to bounce back stronger.

Training should therefore be seen as an enabler. People development and team building are more important than ever, as well as being an important factor in preserving business continuity.

HR and management teams should therefore use the crisis as an opportunity to rethink and enhance training and development. It provides an opportunity to review training programmes to determine whether they cultivate the right skills to enable the business to adapt to the workplace environment, and to provide the additional assurance that customers and specifiers are starting to seek.

As an example, our Professional scheme is a holistic programme across our core standards, hazard and risk management and product safety management, that will create empowered and dynamic leaders, and that can help drive your site through these periods of change and uncertainty.

       

The use of technology makes it easy to learn anywhere, anytime, anyhow. As well as traditional face-to-face courses, learning can now be delivered digitally, in both long form or bite-size format. This can open up access to a wider group of employees that have an impact on food safety. Training can develop both the human and technical skills of staff, and therefore support your assurance credentials to your customers and auditors.  

       

To support sites, we are offering an e-learning package at the significantly reduced cost of GBP 35 to support you through the disruption. The training involves the following 5 core modules; Microbiological Hazards, Food poisoning and its control, Contamination hazards and controls, Personal hygiene, and Cleaning and disinfection.