Reading, UK: Cold Chain People Week, a Cold Chain Federation event that took place last week, focussed on advice for training and retaining the workforce.
During the first session, Mark Burrell, chief executive, Moran Logistics, shared his experiences with partnering with federation member the Apprenticeship College for training future leaders and making the most of the Apprenticeship Levy.
Here Burrell explains why the Apprenticeship College’s Supply Chain Leadership Programme brought multiple benefits to the business.
Q: Why did your business decide to partner with The Apprenticeship College to deliver training to your staff?
Moran Logistics were looking for a partner to deliver training through the utilisation of our apprenticeship levy. The Apprenticeship College were recommended to us from the Food Service Sector, and after some research they had the right pedigree to commence conversations. Once the team visited, it was clear that we had aligned views on the outcomes we both wanted to achieve from the Supply Chain Leadership programme.
Q: What were your main reasons for selecting The Apprenticeship College?
The team were very knowledgeable about the industry, and we were particularly keen to work with a company that utilised coaches with business experience, and not just an FE background.
Q: What was the driver for training your staff on the Supply Chain programme?
The key driver is to provide our 1st line managers with a wider knowledge of what is required to become a successful leader in a large logistics business. This will support our succession planning and feed into our talent management approach. It is important to us to keep the great staff we have and retain them in our business, investing in their development contributes to this. We also wanted to increase understanding of the entire supply chain across different functions to encourage greater teamwork and consequently improve results
Q:What was your experience of getting started with the Apprenticeship College?
The on-site visit to understand Moran Logistics was vital as it allowed us to work together to develop the right programme for the needs of the business. The Apprenticeship College team were very supportive and helped us to understand the financial impact on our levy pot.
Q: Is the training having the impact you desired on the staff enrolled?
Bringing individuals from different departments into a single course has already improved the teamwork between departments and created stronger relationships. Interestingly some delegates have also displayed an increased level of accountability as a result of growing confidence since the programme commenced.
Q: What do you feel our training offers that sets us apart from other providers?
The team are very open in explaining what is expected, and the communication from the dedicated account manager is exactly what is required on a fast-moving business like ours. The quality of the delivery has also received very positive feedback from the delegates.
Q: What wwas the impact the training has had on delegates?
There has been a definite increase in confidence since the programme began. We have also witnessed greater camaraderie as individuals support each other on the programme… This has also now extended to the workplace.
Q: What would you say to other businesses that are concerned about learning hours and the perceived impact on their business?
All training of people will require some time commitment, however the benefits that soon surface once the programme commenced, far outweighed any of the initial concerns that we originally had. This is the first programme of this type that Moran Logistics have invested in, and we will soon be investigating the next options to further develop our team members.
For more information about the Apprenticeship College contact: Tilly Allan, sales director: tilly@quantetgroup.com
