Balancing learning strategy with learning style
Bertram Group, the UK’s leading book wholesaler which is based in Norwich and employs 415 people, has a long established policy of developing staff to meet its business needs.
With the help of learndirect, the company has adopted a flexible approach to its training and learning strategy to ensure it meets the different learning styles whilst balancing the work and home life of its employees.
All staff within the company receive biannual appraisals which include discussions on individual training and development needs. Courses are then selected based on these individual requirements and the business objectives.
Benefitting from the Train to Gain scheme
To help deliver the training, the firm works closely with Pitman Training through learndirect and has signed up to the government’s Train to Gain scheme. As a result, the firm has devised a program which gives employees the opportunity to learn a variety of new skills.
This approach, integrated with its existing succession plan, has delivered tangible results such as high levels of employee motivation, excellent staff retention and a reputation for being a good employer locally.
Caroline Wilson, Head of Human Resources for Bertram Group, said:
“We have a variety of training needs to fulfil within our organisation as
our employees work in different parts of the business. For example, we have
employees from the distribution warehouse to the main offices that are on
courses.
“It is essential to select a training programme that is suitable for the individual as people have different levels of experience and different learning styles.
”Several employees have undertaken the NVQ in information technology (ITQ) which covers a wide range of IT applications, some widely used in the office environment and some more specific to our business. One of the key benefits of NVQs is that we can tailor the course content to the needs of our organisation.
“We are also using Train to Gain to develop the general skills of some of our employees, giving them the opportunity to further develop their literacy, numeracy and basic computer skills which will be useful both at work and in their personal lives. Our aim is to develop our employees and provide them with as many opportunities as possible.
“Nurturing our employees in this way has benefited our business but it has also given individuals the confidence to continue learning outside of work.”
