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McFarlane Telfer - NTA Finalist (Oct 08) Commercial kitchen company has training recipe for successA Berkshire business owner who set about upskilling his workforce, has won a place in the finals of the National Training Awards 2008. Chris Craggs, managing director of McFarlane Telfer Ltd, St Peters Road, Maidenhead, employs 19 people in designing, supplying and maintaining commercial kitchens for blue chip clients, from top hotels to the staff restaurants of multi-nationals and even the Royal Household. Chris explains why he looked around for suitable training. “The catering industry … has traditionally had low expectations of performance and cost; there is no formal career path or further education system providing skilled manpower; there are fewer and fewer UK manufacturers of catering equipment; many people arrive in the niche from related trades or, as the owner, from a career in hotel and catering management. “Looking forward, the ever-more-stringent regulatory framework, the need to re-assure customers as to competence and the ability to recruit and retain staff in a service industry, are all threats which the company needs to take active steps to overcome.” Too small to justify a full-time, in-house trainer, the company has been fortunate to find a local, experienced, flexible provider – Dovetail Training – to help assess needs, develop the courses and deliver key elements of the programme.
In a trade notorious for a ‘cowboy’ image, Chris wanted to attract and retain the best people, by offering exceptional development opportunities. “We have evolved bespoke solutions for each of the identified needs by negotiation with local providers,” he says. “Sessions are delivered in non-onerous chunks, from three hours to one day.” He continued: “The company has progressed strongly over the past 16 months in developing the knowledge, skills and confidence of its people.” The evidence includes, increased awareness of health and safety issues, individuals’ better able to handle stressful situations and staff now much more confident, eager to take on ancillary tasks. “From the results over the past year, we have continued to grow and develop the training – recently adding environmental awareness as part of our plans for ISO14001 accreditation,” said Chris. “The feedback, enthusiasm and enhanced skills have been ample evidence that this is time and money well-spent.” Paul Temple, Investors in People Advisor, Quality South East, said: “McFarlane Telfer prides itself in the high retention of blue-chip customers … and the impact of the in-depth training given to staff enables it to provide what it believes is the best service in the industry.”
Entry name: McFarlane Telfer Ltd Entry no: 80441 Region: South East
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The National Training Awards (www.nationaltrainingawards.com) are designed to celebrate organisations and individuals that demonstrate outstanding business and personal success through investment in training. The initiative is run by UK Skills on behalf of the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills.
For further information contact: Natalie.D’Angelo / Kathryn Crookenden 020 7612 9261 Natlie.DAngelo@ukskills.org.uk kathryn.crookenden@ukskills.org.uk
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