Free training helps hotel achieve gold standards
Stanley House Hotel and Spa has become the latest Lancashire business to get free training for its employees as part of a £5.6m workforce skills programme being delivered in the county.
The award-winning business, based at Mellor in the Ribble Valley, was able to secure leadership and management training for three new staff members, while 17 other staff members gained customer service accreditations.
The training, delivered by The Via Partnership, has benefited staff members from Stanley House’s reception, housekeeping, maintenance, wedding planning and restaurant teams.
Philip Wharton, general manager of Stanley House Hotel and Spa, said: “As a leading leisure and hospitality venue, we are committed to enhancing the overall customer experience. Our strength is in our people which is why we have invested in training across the board, offering hospitality management, leadership and health and safety qualifications.”
The Level 2 Team Leading training comprised of a one-day course followed by a written assignment to demonstrate their new knowledge and understanding back in the workplace. This allowed each learner to achieve the accredited qualification.
Via also gave customer service training to two groups of Stanley House employees; firstly to four members of staff during an ‘open’ course and then to a group of thirteen employees on site at the hotel.
Rebecca Lynch, of The Via Partnership, added: “By being flexible in our delivery we were able to accommodate a large number of staff with minimal disruption and travel time away from the workplace. Stanley House prides itself on excellence in customer service and aims for all members of staff, not just those who are directly customer-facing, to have strong customer service skills. This training will certainly help them to achieve this.”
The customer service programme involved learners attending the Welcome Host Gold one-day course which gave them the knowledge to then complete the City & Guilds Delivering Customer Service accredited unit (Level 2 Award in Customer Service Delivery). Learners were asked to complete a variety of tasks including written questions and workplace observations.
ENDS.
For further information, contact:
Andrew Taylor or Simon Turner, Freshfield – 01772 888400
Stephen Axon, communications service, Lancashire County Council, 01772 533 194
Notes to editors:
Lancashire Skills Support for the Workforce (LSS) is a £5.6m programme delivered by some of the county's leading training providers and managed by Lancashire County Council. LSS gives businesses in the Lancashire, Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwen local authority areas the opportunity to access free accredited workplace training.
The £5.6m funding has been awarded by the European Social Fund (ESF) and was commissioned on behalf of the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership by the Skills Funding Agency (SFA). LSS will support 3,817 employees aged 19 and over who are working in small or medium sized businesses with a workforce of up to 250 employees. It will run until July 2015 – with places allocated to businesses on a first-come first-served basis.
Training available through the scheme will be flexible to meet the needs of the business and will include a mix of basic and higher level skills, leadership and management while also offering technical, specialist qualifications.
LSS delivery partners currently comprises Accrington and Rossendale College, Age UK Lancashire, Blackburn College, Blackpool and the Fylde College, Burnley College, Joint Learning, Lancashire Adult Learning, Lancaster and Morecambe College, Myerscough College, Nelson and Colne College, Preston's College, West Lancashire College, and VIA Partnership.