We're pleased to announce that O-I Harlow are continuing their commitment to skills and continuous improvement by registering candidates on the Management Level 4 NVQ. The five managers have completed their Level 3 qualifications with GTL and after praising the support they received, are keen to get started on the next level.

We've had some excellent feedback with regards to our novel approach to delivering Management NVQs at a distance, as included in the Institute of Education's Putting Knowledge to Work (2009) research:

Benefits of the NVQs stated by GTL's candidates include:

* "We have reduced operating costs over 8 months by £180,000."
* "A big clean up impacted on health and safety and reduced lost time due to accidents."
* "I've learnt to delegate more - it was always something I felt uncomfortable about."

This is because NVQs address problems such as:

* Waste
* Project management
* Budgeting
* Managing staff and other resources
* Allocation of time and delegation

For more information about how Management NVQs could drive your business forwards, see our website or contact us:

Link: Business and Management Qualifications
Tel: +44 (0)114 2270070
Email: info@glass-training.co.uk

British Glass: Introduction to Behavioural Safety Workshops

These workshops have been developed together with members of the glass industry to help delegates invoke real and lasting change in behaviour and culture in their own workplaces – with the day’s content selected to target the issues of greatest importance. The objective of these introductory workshops is to arm delegates with a great foundation in understanding of the subject area, relating this to real situations and providing the tools and support materials to assist and support implementation in your own workplace.

These one-day events aim to give all delegates a firm introduction to behavioural safety – what it is, the key concepts involved and approaches used to implement initiatives; discuss safety culture and how to assess its’ current state, monitoring and developing an improved culture; safety leadership and key behaviours as well as methods to encourage safe behaviours, understand why people perform unsafe acts and identify the root causes of unsafe behaviours.

The behavioural expert for these workshops is Dr Carolyn Yeoman, Behavioural Psychologist. British Glass has been working with Carolyn for the past year to establish a suitable range of tools and topics to develop this workshop to benefit our industry and enable delegates to make the greatest impact on their own health and safety culture and future performance.

Charged at only £150, these workshops are a great opportunity for delegates to access expert knowledge at a fraction of the cost, obtain a firm understanding of the basics and also take away a full support package, which includes various tools to monitor, audit and improve; workshop materials to refresh knowledge and further items to help promote a safe culture onsite.

Two workshops are currently planned and it is also possible for us to also organise hosted an in-house event for you if you are wishing to train groups of 8 or more delegates:

Tuesday, 30 March 2010 - British Glass Manufacturers’ Confederation, Sheffield
Tuesday, 13 April 2010 - Glass and Glazing Federation, London

For more information, contact:

Philip Marsh
UK Health and Safety Manager
British Glass Manufacturers’ Confederation
Tel: 0114 290 1850
Email: p.marsh@britglass.co.uk


Comment from GTL's Training and Development Advisor:

How do we know exactly what it is that will improve our overall business performance?

A certain marathon runner always comes home just behind the medal places, and yet he puts in more hours training then the first three runners combined. So the question is why does he not finish ahead of them? At first it’s a difficult question with no easy answer until you examine closer and then start to ask the right questions. Champions make things look easy, but all the preparation that is needed for a winning performance is very often ignored. The fourth-placed runner could spend every hour of every day running but still make no improvements, continuing to miss out on the medals.

Why?

The answer could lie in his attitude; has he really pushed and really stretched himself? It’s a well known fact that in the field of training that a change in Knowledge and skills can be easier to achieve than any change in attitude. The runner may train at half his potential capacity for eight hours and the other runners train at 80% for six hours. It isn't the hours he's putting in that will make the difference, but what he actually does in those hours.

It's the same with developing your business.

You can just place all your employees onto the first safety course available, but it may not have any positive effect on your bottom line. That is why we are here to help. As a non-profit organisation, our interests lie in putting you on the right tracks to achieving success in a way which is most relevant to you.

The only question remains, how far do you want to run?

For an informal chat about how GTL could help you drive your business forward, contact our Development Advisor.

Owen Dale
Tel: 0114 2270072
Email: owen.dale@glass-training.co.uk


Call for Glass Employers to shape qualifications

Proskills, the Sector Skills Council for the Process and Manufacturing sector today called on Glass and Related Industries employers to shape the future of vocational qualifications. The Sector Skills Council urged employers to visit a new website launched today to raise awareness of a large scale overhaul of sector-based qualifications. The site is part of a joint project with Business Link and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, designed to ensure that businesses are at the heart of the changes.

Terry Watts, CEO of Proskills UK, said: “Developing a competent workforce is critical to business success. Vocational qualifications are a great way of ensuring that employees have the right skills in line with business needs and it is very important that employers discover how the new qualifications will add value to the training they undertake.”

Vocational qualifications in the Glass and related industries are undergoing a radical change. The reforms that are being developed will offer employers and their people more choice and flexibility to select the qualifications for their specific needs. The new qualification structure can be linked directly to new or existing training programmes, and will give confidence to learners and employers that skills and knowledge that are learnt are properly assessed, nationally recognised, and can be applied in the workplace.

Neil Robinson, Glass and related industries Lead at Proskills said: “The new vocational qualification structures for the Glass industry reflect what actually happens in the workplace, and will add value to the training and learning that is taking place. The reformed qualifications could transform the way training is carried out and assessed, and will encourage employers and learners to improve skills levels in Glass and related industries.

For more information, see http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/vocationalqualifications

The GTL newsletter is circulated to over 1000 companies covering all sectors of the UK glass sector.

If you would like your news to appear in the March edition of the GTL newsletter, please submit your stories to newsletter@glass-training.co.uk by 19th March 2010.