National qualifications on offer to more than 1750 Brantano staff

More than 1750 staff at retail footwear giant Brantano can now gain an NVQ Level 2 in Retail Skills alongside their in-house training, from a new partnership with leading awarding body and assessment specialists, EDI (www.ediplc.com) and training provider Protocol Skills (www.protocol-skills.co.uk).

The partnership means that qualifications now offered to staff are nationally recognised but designed and led by Brantano. This makes them 100 per cent fit for purpose, enabling staff to truly learn whilst on the job.Using a team of Qualification Developers, EDI worked alongside the Human Resources team at Brantano to ‘map’ the existing in-house training scheme with the NVQ Level 2. Through the mapping process, EDI identified gaps in the current training and devised an additional training programme to enable staff to extend their six month mandatory training by just three months to achieve the nationally recognised qualification.

Training provider Protocol Skills is working closely with the staff at Brantano to deliver the additional three month training programme and help the employees achieve the qualification while continuing with their everyday job.1750 staff at over 145 Brantano stores nationwide will now benefit from the new training programme. The shoe store brings a new approach to the way customers shop for footwear with every Brantano store stocking 100’s of styles, arranged by size and all under one roof.

Louise Williams, Training Officer at Brantano, said:"At Brantano we are very keen to provide our employees with the best possible training and opportunities that will benefit them during their career at Brantano and beyond. When reassessing our training programme we wanted to work with an awarding body that had a strong vocational orientation and that completely understood our business and our goals. Our ethos is to nurture our employees’ professional and personal development needs to enable them to work their way up the company to more senior positions; training is a major part of this. Through the process of mapping our training to the national qualifications, we have gained a real perspective on the standards that we should be expecting in terms of operations, customer service and working in retail."

Nicola Buffham, Corporate Partnership Manager at Protocol Skills, commented: "This tailor-made training package will go a long way towards ensuring that all staff at Brantano are fully trained and confident in the role they are delivering. The commitment from Brantano in offering the NVQ to its staff shows how seriously it takes customer service and its employees’ personal development. This qualification will not only benefit staff while at Brantano but is something that will be recognised throughout their career."

Gareth Phillips, Director of Strategic Sales at EDI, said: "Employers are constantly being encouraged to invest in staff development and many have made the strategic commitment to build the skills of their staff. By working with Brantano and Protocol Skills on the bespoke mapping services, we have seen a win-win solution – staff gaining a national qualification and a business benefiting from increased staff motivation and skill sets. Qualifications are not just about improving basic skills to help people get jobs; they are about helping people reach their full potential within a job."

For more information on courses from EDI contact tel: 08707 202909, email: [email protected], website: www.ediplc.com.