7th September 2020
Sue Lovatt, Business Director of My Fish Company in Lancashire, reflects on the local support she recieved by Skills Support for the Workforce.
Sue Lovatt, Business Director at My Fish Company, a company specialising in delivering fresh fish, is “absolutely delighted” with her partnership with the Growth Company through the Skills Support for the Workforce programme, which is commissioned by the ESFA in partnership with Lancashire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP). When the programme first started, she had just appointed team leaders and she knew they’d all require training to enhance their existing knowledge and skills and to improve the business from within, starting with its people.
Since then, together with Skills Support for the Workforce, My Fish Company has launched several workplace training programmes including; Level 2 Diploma in Team Leading, Level 2 Certificate in Customer Service and Business Improvement Techniques. Sue is confident that these will benefit the growth of the company and will help them to recruit from the local community.
This process was not without its challenges, however- Sue commented that due to My Fish Company working as a “just in time” business that uses split shifts with all of its staff, time management looked a bit rocky at first. Luckily, the Lancashire Skills Support for the Workforce team formulated a flexible training plan and timeline that worked for both the delivery coach and the employees, and adapted to their unique work patterns.
We asked Sue about the outcomes and impact this has had on her and her team leaders, and she told us that: “The result of these interventions has been successful! Employees who said that they felt under pressure to complete the associated work tasks to be successful on the course, commented that they felt like a real burden had been lifted through the flexibility of the Lancashire Skills Support for the Workforce team and our appointed SDC”.
We then asked Sue what were the next steps for My Fish Company, and she replied: “We plan to increase the leadership and management skills for all team leaders using a rolling training program with Lancashire Skills Support for the Workforce and then we’ll utilise the Business Improvement Techniques to allow us to expand as a company whilst recruiting from the local area, to boost the local economy.”
If you feel as if the Skills Support for Workforce team could be of help to your business, click here to find contacts for your Local Authority Area.