Premier Foods is the UK’s largest food manufacturer producing some of the country’s leading brand names. At Methwold in Norfolk, the plant, one of around 70 Premier Foods factories in the country, produces the chilled meat free brands Quorn and Cauldron.
As part of a much larger organisation, the Norfolk plant benefits from the wider group policy on training and career development. The Norfolk company wholeheartedly embraces the culture of investment in people seeing their staff as their most valuable asset. Their aim is to create a highly trained and motivated workforce that enables them to maintain their high levels of quality and customer satisfaction.
Premier Foods believes that having a multiskilled workforce trained in all areas helps them to achieve high volumes of production and maintain effective communication within a complex production environment. Apprenticeships have been a cornerstone of the company’s training programme since 2007: the flexibility to train on-site in a range of disciplines whilst giving learners a good understanding of policies, procedures and protocols means the qualification is ideally suited to the company. The company’s investment in its apprentices has allowed them to develop skilled staff from within, recognising and rewarding potential through promotion. This in turn has increased the numbers of employees wishing to undertake an Apprenticeship.
Benefits
The introduction of Apprenticeships to the company’s training portfolio has allowed Premier Foods and their employees to benefit from:
- Improved literacy and numeracy
- Raised standards of health and safety
- Increased moral on the shop floor
- Increased confidence and staff motivation
- The opportunity to complete a nationally recognised qualification
- Flexible training
- Reduced staff turnover which leads to reduced recruitment costs
Flexible training
Premier Foods has developed a strong working relationship with their training provider - vital in a high volume production environment where on-site training has to have minimal impact on shift patterns and outputs. The variety and level of Apprenticeships available is ideal for the company allowing them to train staff in everything from Food Manufacture to Business Administration. Prior to beginning a training programme all employees are assessed for levels of numeracy, literacy and English language ability. Due to a high level of employees without English as a first language, English Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) classes are run each week during working hours.
Undertaking training on-site is less disruptive for the company and allows them to introduce bespoke policies and procedures, ensuring employees benefit from tailored training. Having an outside specialist on the shop floor enables them to receive critical and constructive feedback on processes and support in implementing changes.