Swizzels Matlow

A Spoonful of Sugar...

Whatever the job, everyone likes to have a clear picture of what their role is at work and how they are expected to fulfil it. When it comes to training and development in the workplace, having standards detailing the skills and knowledge needed to carry out different jobs has major benefits in terms of achieving consistency, boosting confidence, improving performance and aiding further employee progression.

National Occupational Standards (NOS) from Improve, the food and drink skills council, are developed in close consultation with employers. They outline an agreed core set of competences for functions within job roles right across the food and drink industry.
With more than 1000 standards currently available, NOS form an in-depth resource of industry knowledge and skills.

NOS are used to:
• Form the basis of qualifications and Apprenticeship content, embedding clear, industry agreed descriptions of expected competences into vocational qualifications and other formal training programmes.
• Inform the content for Improve Proficiency Qualifications (IPQ’s) a suite of work based qualifcations developed specifically for the food and drink industry.
• Inform the development of in-house training programmes and training specifications used by employers.

How Swizzels Matlow Makes Training Sweeter

Swizzels Matlow is one of the UK’s most successful confectionery manufacturing companies.
Behind the scenes at the company’s Derbyshire headquarters, where household name favourites such as Love Hearts, Drumsticks and Refreshers have been made for generations, a quiet revolution has been taking place.

Under the guidance of Training and Development Manager Tony Salt, the company has undergone a fundamental shift in its approach to training and development, moving away from the ‘sit next to Nellie’ approach to a formal company-wide strategy which Tony says has had a profound effect on performance.

And at the heart of this revolution, says Tony, are National Occupational Standards (NOS).
“National Occupational Standards are an invaluable aid to our business,” says Tony. “They represent a gold standard of knowledge and understanding which anyone working in food and drink manufacturing can access and use.

“We use NOS in two ways. After 12 months’ employment, every one of our employees undertakes a Level 2 National Vocational Qualification (NVQ). NVQs are based on National Occupational Standards, so everyone who gains the qualification is being assessed against an industry-agreed benchmark of competency and knowledge.

“We also have an extensive in-house training programme which makes extensive use of NOS. We now have 20 production operatives who are released from their jobs to provide professional training, focusing mainly on new starters. They are also responsible for drawing up company training manuals for each type of machine and each production line.

“These manuals are cross-referenced directly against NOS. So a single manual might reference specific standards in health and safety, hygiene, quality, processing operations, changeover management and so on.

“These manuals form the basis of the training every new employee receives from day one. NOS are therefore embedded directly into our training programme and our quality control systems, ensuring everyone is working to the same benchmarks for maximum operational performance.”
Tony says the shift from an informal to a more formal approach to training, built around use of NOS, has had a significant impact on staff motivation, retention and productivity.“Since we started using qualified trainers, we’ve seen a dramatic effect on staff turnover, which has reduced significantly. Training is now carried out in a constructive, smooth way; everyone knows what they need to know and what their role is, and we have linked our pay grading to the achievement of Qualifications , so employees can see the benefits clearly.

“It has also had a hugely positive effect on the Key Point Indicators relating to machine efficiencies. Another big benefit we’ve seen is that employees are better equipped to transfer between departments, because wherever they work, they are working to the same standards. “None of this would have been possible without NOS. I have great admiration for the people at Improve who have developed them because they show a thorough understanding of industry requirements. The knowledge and competencies they cover are ideal, reflecting exactly what is needed on the shop floor.”