Free staff training for local businesses

A new Project is setting up in Rochdale that will offer free basic skills training for staff. The project, which is being delivered by a partnership of LearnLocal (part of RMBC’s Work based and Community Learning Service) and Groundwork Trust Oldham and Rochdale, aims to offer employers in the borough of Rochdale the opportunity to help their staff to improve their skills in literacy, language or numeracy.

The project offers a very flexible approach to improving the skills of staff. The approach varies according to the type and size of business, the number of staff employed and the needs of the employer and the employees.

An initial assessment of the skills levels of staff in literacy and numeracy is carried out sensitively and confidentially.  Some staff may then opt for a guidance session; others may prefer a taster session of a literacy or numeracy programme. We then develop an individual learning plan for each employee.  Staff are given the opportunity to gain a qualification, such as the adult literacy or numeracy certificate.

In some cases, a training room or office within the company’s premises may be used as a base for delivery. Where there are only one or two members of staff who may gain from improving their skills, a programme can be offered at a venue convenient to the employer base.

The timing of the provision is flexible, responsive to the needs of the employer and the staff. For example, twilight provision can be arranged to suit staff whose working day ends towards five o’clock. For shift workers a programme can be fitted to run before or after the shift starts or ends.

Increased productivity, efficiency and staff morale are some of the benefits reported by companies who have helped their staff to improve their ‘basic skills’ – or Skills for Life. Depending on the nature of the business, employers find that mistakes and slow output can be very costly and can often be linked to poor levels of literacy and numeracy. Reading and checking purchase lists, instruction manuals and health and safety instructions… need reasonable levels of literacy. Understanding figures is important for staff working across a range of job roles – whether its construction workers estimating measures, office staff inputting data, or a receptionist discussing prices.  

The project is aimed at employers based in the borough of Rochdale who employ less than 249 staff.  The staff employed must be aged 16 or over. Staff do not need to live in the borough of Rochdale, so this helps to offer the same opportunity to all staff.

Contacts:

Jonathan Gibson (LearnLocal) 01706 350444 jonathan.gibson@rochdale.gov.uk
Steph Rush (LearnLocal) 01706 756600 steph.rush@rochdale.gov.uk
Glynis Roberts (Groundwork) 07852 769733