Pictured: Graham Biggs, Hereford and Worcester Chamber of
Commerce President, Mike Ashton, Chief Executive, Chamber of
Commerce Herefordshire and Worcestershire, Sue Walton, Oakland
International's Human Resources Manager, David Hoey, Oakland
International's Human Resources and Purchasing Director and IGD
Project Manager, Mike Darby at the opening ceremony
Representatives from IGD and the Chamber of Commerce for
Herefordshire and Worcestershire were at the official launch of
Oakland International's new Redditch education facility, the
Oakland Training Academy.
Midlands based supply chain specialists in logistics and
warehousing plans that the facility will be open to all employees
and operating on a framework of courses based around Foundation and
Intermediate through to Management and Specialist
qualifications.
Oakland International Human Resources and Purchasing Director,
David Hoey, explains: "Oakland International's long term objectives
is to build skills and competencies for the future of the business
and to provide our people with employability skills which can be
transferred across our business or taken with them wherever they go
as their career develops."
Oakland views this new facility as part of their succession
planning for all levels and an essential investment in the ongoing
development of their teams; helping each individual and Oakland to
identify future leaders. They expect the Academy to become an
integral tool for attracting new talent to the business as well as
a key component in staff retention, becoming the central focus of
all development activities.
IGD Project Manager, Mike Darby, stated: "IGD welcomes the
opening of Oakland International's new Training Academy. It is a
clear demonstration of the company's commitment to both the aims of
the Employability Pledge and the ongoing investment in their staff
and training. As such it will do much to secure a talent pipeline
of staff with the skills and capabilities they need not only for
their ongoing personal development and success but also to meet
business needs both now and in the future."
Included in the new Training Academy is an extensive Learning
Resource Library together with a fully equipped dummy warehouse
aimed at giving new starters practical experience in a safe
environment, a facility that will directly affect customer service
once training is complete.
Graham Biggs, Hereford and Worcester Chamber of Commerce
President, added: "Oakland International is a great example of a
business putting staff training and development right at the heart
of everything it does. To see and speak to those taking part
in the training demonstrates just how effective this can be for a
business in recruitment, staff retention and development with
results shown on the bottom line. The dedicated training area and
Academy is something to be truly proud of both for Oakland
International and all of us associated with it."
The Academy plans to introduce E-learning solutions next year,
providing a truly competitive edge when retaining, competing and
winning new business.
For more information about Oakland International, please visit
their website here: www.oakland-international.com