1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228 
GAINING THROU TRAINING
Page 56
Page 58
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Reduced costs, lower staff turnover and fewer accidents are some of the benefits that training can bring. Chris Tindall looks at the services, help and funding available to the road haulage industry.
IFYOU ran a distribution depot for a major business and someone claimed they could save you1:750,0(Xla year. chances are you'd invite them in for a cup of tea and a chat.This is exactly the saving one training provider says it achieved for Safeway, now part of the Morrisons supermarket group. at just one of its sites with a range of training packages.
Len Clair, MD of Omni a Training, expl ains that his firm uses a "jigsaw approach.' to develop training packages for operators which can result in startling savings.
Typically.Omnia personnel will carry out a diagnostic analysis of a business; this can usually be completed in just a few hours.An Omnia consultant will identify the type of training a company needs and will estimate the savings that could be made as a result.The company then contacts organisations offering suitable packages— and goes on to look for ways to help with funding.
"One of the first projects we did was with the whole Safeway network." Gair reports."We analysed its business need. It was running 85% agency drivers on one site,so we put a training package in there to train Safeway's own people.We aimed for a saving of £500,000 per site —it got 050,(0).
"We look for specialists in health and safety. tachographs, training." he adds."We can go to the network and select one of those specialists. This approach keeps costs down and training becomes cost-effective for the business."
Omnia Training isn't the only trainer provider offering this sort of service. Skills for Logistics (SfL), the independent organisation set up in 2004 to tackle the skills and productivity needs of the logistics sector, lists providers by region on its website (www. skilisforlogistics.org).SfL's chief executive. Ian Hetherington, says it works closely with the training providers, making sure there are enough of them to deliver the industry's training needs through campaigning and regular contact with government agencies.
One of Stt's roles is to negotiate subsidies with the Learning and Skills Council (LSC). Gair describes the LSC as the industry's "bestkept secret", hut that may he about to change.
On 13 September the LSC launched a ilbn programme calledTrain to Gain which is designed to help businesses in all industries receive the training they need. Its goals include increasing the proportion of people achieving an NVQ Level 2 qualification (equivalent to five good GCSE passes) by the age of I 9. to ensure they have greater employment opportunities by improving their literacy and numeracy' skills:The service is also designed to increase opportunities for older people to move from a low skills level to Level 2 and beyond (see panel). Financial support is offered for those who are eligible.
Hetherington welcomesTrain to Gain because, put simply, its object is to put more resources into the hands of companies Gair adds that the haulage industry still suffers from a lack of basic literacy and numeracy skills Training isn't free Of course. some training is bound to be specific to the haulage industryThere is no such thing as free training, but the Safe and Fuel Efficient Driving (Safed) programme benefits from showing results very quickly, often with savings for the corn panics involved far in excess of the training fees.
Hetherington points out:"[Safedi has the advantage of beingcost-effective in the very short term:it has a very quick effect. But evidence suggests that the main benefit to a company that adapts comprehensive training packages is a reduction of staff turnover, which is a big issue in the industry, "That's often the prime motivator behind apprenticeship programmes and the like," he concludes. Reducing staff turnover is an absolute number one priority for most of those businesses."•