Can we train our way out of recession?

25 March 2009



Now that the recession is upon us, it’s important to keep a clear head and think of a positive way forward. Sarah Grindrod, Picme, gives her opinions.


John Denham, Skills Secretary, has gone on record as saying that “investing in training is essential to any business, but is more important than ever in the current economic climate.” This is further compounded by information published by the Learning and Skills Council, which states that those businesses who do not train their workforce are two-and-a-half times more likely to fail than those that do.

False economies

At times of economic hardship, such additional services as marketing and employee training are often the first to go, as companies tighten their belts and concentrate on trying to fill the order books against the odds. Ironically, this is the very time when employers should be supporting training so that improvements can be made.

The good news is that the Government has recently announced a £1bn training investment programme until 2010. The funding can be obtained through the Train to Gain scheme and is available to businesses of all sizes. Better still, it won’t cost a penny. On its website, Train to Gain claims that “getting the right skills in place cuts waste and boosts profitability.” This is corroborated by a National Audit Office survey stating that: “a typical 50-employee company could save £165,000 every year by filling the gaps in its employees’ skills.”

However, it is essential to ensure that your employees are learning the right skills to keep your business fit and healthy. There is no point in training for training’s sake. Under the Train to Gain scheme, businesses can access training, such as the Business Improvement Techniques (BIT) NVQ, designed to deliver tangible business benefits in terms of cost, quality and delivery. The skills can be applied and make a difference to the business by tackling short-term challenges and increasing efficiency in a relatively short space of time. A vast number of training providers offer the Train to Gain-funded BIT NVQs, such as colleges, Learn Direct and other specialist companies, such as Picme.

There are two available pathways with the BIT NVQ – process and quality, both of which add real value to a company’s overall performance. For example, a packaging manufacturing company would include such units as: statutory regulations and safety, effective team-working, leading effective teams, error-proofing and statistical process control.

Under the Process Pathway, the company could expect to learn workplace organisation – focusing on the 5S (sort, set-in-order, shine, standardise and sustain), the application of continuous improvement techniques, visual management, how to reduce changeover times (either in terms of equipment or staff handovers), problem-solving techniques, total productive maintenance (TPM), policy deployment, value-stream mapping and process mapping.

Typical units in the Quality Pathway include Six Sigma methodology and process mapping, basic statistics, FMEA (Failure Modes and Effects Analysis), capability studies and the design of experiments. Of course, considerable elements of the BIT NVQ are based on lean processes that encourage businesses to consider every area of their operations to assess where savings can be made.

For example, a global producer of speciality films for packaging and labels supported by Picme has derived benefits in training staff in business improvement techniques. Cross-functional teams were put together, and through data analysis, problem-solving techniques and operational trials, a transit damage problem estimated to be costing the company £300,000 per annum was simply resolved by changing the design and components used to palletise the product.

Optimising effectiveness

With energy prices continuing to rise, it is more important than ever for companies to maximise output, thereby reducing the overhead costs per unit produced. By analysing the Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), energy savings up to 40 per cent, are not uncommon. Analysing data such as shift patterns, when production lines are manned and up-and-running or idle, together with assessing the output plan and sales forecasts will all have a bearing on how energy is used.

The next year is going to be an uphill struggle, but ensuring your business is operating as efficiently as possible may go some way to weathering the storm – and business improvement training can assist with this.


A little training can sometimes go a long way Sarah Grindrod

Sarah Grindrod Sarah Grindrod
A little training can sometimes go a long way A little training can sometimes go a long way


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