2400 learners make the most of University on the Shop Floor
25th May 2005
A vital weapon in the ceramics sector’s growing search for greater competitiveness was put under the spotlight yesterday when over 100 delegates from industry, government and training and educational specialists from across the country joined together to promote the virtues of work-based learning in the ceramic industry.
The unique University on the Shop Floor project, which was implemented through a partnership between the Ceramic Industry Forum (CIF) and the Association for Ceramic Training and Development (ACTD), has seen over 2400 learners registered since its launch.
Speaking at the Britannia Stadium event, Sue Evans, Chief Executive of the CIF, explained: “The project was conceived as a way of helping the industry equip employees with the skills needed to embrace the widescale changes seen in the sector.
“After experiencing an extremely productive couple of years we are now rolling the programme out to even more ceramic companies and are gearing up for another surge of learners enrolling.”
The aim of ‘University on the Shop Floor’ is to encourage companies to work together as a partnership, making learning and education available to all individuals, groups and businesses in the industry.
There have already been a number of notable successes, not least the achievements of successful learners and the value that companies have derived from empowering their employees to learn.
“Each company that has employees registered as learners at the University automatically becomes a member of the Ceramics Industry Learning Network (CILN), which allows companies to share information and experiences and encourages non-participating firms to learn through collaboration,” continued Sue.
“The result is tangible business improvements that create value for everyone involved. “
The £3.2m project is funded through Advantage West Midlands (AWM) with all government investment matched by the industry in the form of time, facilities and resources.
Keith Marsh, Director of the ACTD, picked up the story: “The input from the industry is absolutely critical to the success of the project. We’ve asked them to contribute not only their facilities, but also the time of their employees, which in today’s manufacturing environment is a scarce commodity indeed.”
“Thankfully, the UK ceramic industry is ready for change and has more than risen to the challenge that has been presented to them.”
He continued: “We are delighted with the support from partners of the project, such as Advantage West Midlands and Staffordshire Learning and Skills Council. As a result we designed a celebration event to acknowledge and encourage further support from our partner organisations and to promote our success nationally.”
The event held last week at the Britannia Stadium, recognised the overwhelming industry support received to date and was hosted by Kriss Akabusi.
As a keen advocate of life-long learning, the former Olympic Silver medalist was on hand to encourage delegates and present certificates and prizes to learners, who have excelled through the learning network.
Sue concluded: “This event provided a great opportunity for us to say thank you to the industry that has supported us over the last two years and to encourage new firms to get on board so that they too can reap the benefits of ‘University on the Shopfloor’.”
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