The achievements of 22 members of staff at Coloplast’s distribution centre have marked the start of a series of training programmes, as more staff are keen to follow in their footsteps.
The Peterborough-based medical devices company has supported 22 members of its distribution team through their Level 2 NVQ in warehousing and storage. The training – which Coloplast encouraged staff to take at their own pace, without pressure to complete in a given time frame – has given the team more confidence in their roles.
Arif Karim, Coloplast’s distribution centre manager, is very proud of the team and of what they have achieved. He explained: “I already knew my team was good; I benchmark them against both internal and external standards and so I knew they were working well and doing their jobs properly. By supporting them through the NVQ we wanted to build their confidence and strengthen their skills.
“As a result of the course the team now functions more smoothly, is more highly skilled and they have aspirations for moving up within the company. We believe in preparing our staff for their current and future roles, so it’s great to see that the training has given them the confidence to look to what they want to do next. Some of the team have already shown an interest in studying the NVQ at Level 3, while new staff have now signed up for Level 2.”
HR director Sam Sedwill commented: “We were delighted by the response from the distribution team when we offered to support them through the NVQ. The feedback from the training provider has been excellent and we are very proud of what they have achieved. Initially this was a one-off training programme but it has been such a success that we are going to continue to offer this level of support.”
Coloplast worked with training provider Intec Business Colleges and, following the success of the NVQ training, will continue to work with it on future training programmes.
Ruth Dix, contracts manager for Intec Business Colleges, said: “The programme was a huge success with employees successfully achieving their qualifications. All staff involved showed a huge deal of commitment to the programme and produced a variety of evidence for their assessment, showcasing their own individual range of competence and skills. Intec Business Colleges looks forward to continuing to supporting Coloplast in its training and development programme.”
Sam Sedwill added: “It is vital that all staff realise the importance of their individual contribution and the work of their team. As well as leading to a more highly skilled distribution team, the NVQ training also gave them a better understanding of how the company works. This motivates them and enables them to build their future within Coloplast.”
Coloplast is also providing English lessons for more than a dozen members of its distribution team for whom English is a second language. The 12-week course is being entirely funded by the company.