UK: Howard Nurseries boosts business skills

Staff at Howard Nurseries have been attending a course at West Suffolk College to gain their Level 2 Awards in Leadership and Team Skills from the Institute of Leadership and Management. The one day a week, four week course has been attended by 6 members of staff from Howard Nurseries, all of whom have subsequently reported feeling much more confident when leading their respective departments.

The course covers areas such as Developing Yourself as a Team Leader, Communications in the Workplace and Understanding Effective Team Working. Open Ground and Stock Figures - Matthew Garrod says, “I feel much more open to my team member’s opinions and I’m much more confident when I’m dealing with conflicting opinions within my team.” Whilst the Packing Shed Team Leader Vicky Johnson says, “The course really developed me as a Team Leader, I feel I know my strengths and can really use them when situations need to be dealt with.”

One of the reasons it has been possible to train all six staff members is that they have been given funding thanks to the European Social Fund Project called Skills Support in the Workforce and the Employer Training Incentive Fund. Both of these schemes offer small and medium businesses in the UK and Europe funding on courses to develop their employee’s skills. Businesses can apply for the funding on accredited courses up to level 4 which give their employees the necessary skills in their vocation.

For more information
Howard Nurseries
www.howardnurseries.co.uk