Member Article

North East training provider secures Midlands council contract

A North East training provider has secured a contract with Dudley Council to deliver customer service apprenticeships to its street cleaning staff.

Newcastle-headquartered B-Skill clinched the contract to deliver Customer Services Adult Apprenticeship at level 2 to its Street Cleansing operatives after previous enquiries to other training companies drew a blank.

Although the council has previously provided adult apprenticeships for other departments, this is the first time that frontline workers such as street cleaners have had the chance to improve their customer service skills.

The B-Skill training is now equipping staff with the knowledge to represent their employer properly on a daily basis when they respond to members of the public, helping ensure the correct information is provided at all times.

Councillor Khurshid Ahmed, cabinet member for transport, said: “The staff enrolled on the course are more mature and have never completed an apprenticeship before. When they applied, they were told there would be a lot more written work. This, combined with that fact not many have been in a classroom environment for a long time, caused some nerves but since starting the training, feedback from the staff has been positive.”

The course covers communication and how to provide a first class service and feedback for customers. It also focuses on improving the adult apprentices’ maths and English skills. Trainees additionally learn about employers’ rights and responsibilities.

B-Skill’s national client relationship manager, Andrea Aylwin, said: “Customer service training is vital for staff throughout an organisation, whatever their job, but is particularly important for those coming into contact with the public on a daily basis.”

Andrea met with the team at Dudley Council to discuss the council’s requirements and identify and resolve any issues before the training began.

Councillor Khurshid Ahmed added: “B-Skill’s approach has been extremely flexible throughout and we received constant re-assurance that there were many different training options available to ensure that our learners received the most appropriate method for them and that they felt supported throughout the process.

“Our learners have now made considerable progress and the organisation, support and flexibility demonstrated by B-Skill since the onset of this project has remained constant throughout. We look forward to continuing to work with B-Skill in the future as other training opportunities arise.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .