Since the introduction of Gangmaster Licensing Authority (GLA) legislation last year, factory managers need to know that their labour provider has the right licences in place, will adhere to all the correct procedures, and also provide staff who can get the job done properly and, above all, in compliance with the law.
With this in mind, Vital Recruitment has taken what it claims is the unprecedented step of ensuring that all of its staff are fully trained in basic health and safety and basic food awareness, before they get to the factory floor.
Terry Waite, general manager at Vital Recruitment, says: “Our job is to make life easier for factory managers. My personal career background lies in factory management, so I know first-hand how frustrating and inconvenient it can be to receive staff that don’t know the basics, and need training up from scratch. It costs factory managers valuable time, and of course money, to train staff.”
He adds: “By investing in this new training programme, our customers can be safe in the knowledge that they are employing trained staff, who have a level of knowledge that enables a smooth transition during employment, and maintains ethical standards. We can ensure that we are delivering the best possible service to our customers, by removing the need for time-consuming training at the expense of getting the real work done.”
Training sessions are already under way at Vital’s new Endeavour Training Suite, at its Peterborough headquarters. The company has teamed up with Steve Howells of SureSafe Consulting, who will be delivering the training to Vital’s 600-strong workforce. Previously a production manager within the food industry, Howells retrained five years ago to focus on health and safety. His credentials include a BSc in health and safety and environmental management, being NEBOSH and NVQ trained, membership of the Institution of Occupational Safety & Health, and accreditation as a professional trainer to deliver courses on behalf of the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH).
“The training programme has been developed in conjunction with SureSafe Consulting, and goes above and beyond the basic training requirements for the food industry,” says Waite, “to ensure that factories no longer need to waste valuable time and money training temporary staff.”
Every staff member attends two comprehensive courses in basic health and safety awareness and basic food safety awareness, which take place during a four-hour training session, with certificates of attendance awarded at the end of the session.
The basic health & safety awareness course covers:
• Health and safety law at work
• Accident and ill health prevention
• Risk assessment
• First aid
• Personal protective equipment
• Workplace health, safety and welfare
• Fire prevention
• Hazardous substances
• Ergonomics and workstation design
• Manual handling
• Noise
The food safety awareness course covers:
• Food poisoning
• Bacteriology
• Prevention of contamination and food poisoning
• Personal hygiene
• Premises, equipment and pest control
• Cleaning and disinfection
• Legislation
In addition, Vital now has the facility to provide a bespoke training service which can be adapted to fit the needs of individual customers. “These sessions can be conducted either at Vital’s Endeavour Training Suite or on-site at the factory - whichever is most convenient,” says Waite. “Vital is also applying to have the suite registered by CIEH, which will make it an approved training centre.
“This training investment is another example of our commitment to raising standards amongst labour providers - the company has been at the forefront of campaigning for regulation and excellence in the industry for many years,” he says. “We were amongst a small group of labour providers to support the establishment of the Association of Labour Providers (ALP) in 2004. Vital therefore wholeheartedly welcomed the introduction of the GLA by government in April 2005, and was one of the first labour providers in the UK to be awarded a full unconditional licence last year.”
Vital says family values, personal service, efficiency and strong ethics have been at the heart of its philosophy since it was established by managing director Bill Singh. It supplies labour to factories throughout the UK, across many sectors of the food industry, and has several regional offices to keep it in touch with its customers.
Singh says his decision last year to relocate to bespoke new premises, including the company’s state-of-the-art training facilities, was a clear commitment to the future of the company.
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