Chichester Business School 2015

A trio of leading West Sussex employers have called on the expertise of the University of Chichester’s Business School to identify which areas of their businesses require additional skills.

The companies, URT Ltd and Heirlooms-Linens Ltd both from Bognor Regis and ADF Milking based in Slindon, joined together for a pioneering programme at the University’s Business School’s Bognor Regis campus aimed at upskilling their employees.

 URT, ADF and Heirlooms worked with the Business School to identify their main skills and development priorities and highlighted Operations Management as one key area.

The programme, which was delivered over four days was tailored to each of the employers, who were keen to ensure their employees could react to changing markets at home and abroad and maintain their long-term competitive position.

Andrew Adams, Business Development Manager at the University’s Business School said:

"Firstly we work closely with you and your team to identify what is needed and how this fits with your organisation’s goals.

“Next comes how best this can be delivered: on-site, at the University, run over several months, or as an intense course, with or without a qualification”

“Companies from different sectors working together can stimulate new ideas, identify different approaches and ways of working which can boost performance and maintain competitiveness."

The programme included to the development of skills which could be immediately applied in the workplace including inventory planning, planning and control, quality and project management as well as best practice in operations management.

Kevin Emmett Director URT Ltd

“A highly interactive, innovative and engaging classroom training programme, supported with books and material for in-depth reading.

The effective management skills developed throughout the modules will increase staff confidence and provide our organisation with immediate benefits.”

 Robert Hogg, Laminating Supervisor URT Ltd

“The course opened my eyes to approaching tasks and man management in an analytical and more productive manner, overall a very enjoyable and useful course. “

 Harry Dixon, Trim & Assembly Shop Supervisor URT Ltd

“I thoroughly enjoyed the course and found it be very informative.  I feel it let me understand how to better manage my time and the time of others and in doing so helped to make the workplace more efficient and smooth running.”

 Ruth Douglas, General Manager, Heirlooms-Linens Ltd

“We were delighted to be able to utilise the knowledge and experience of the University to assist us in developing our own staff on how best to increase our efficiency and optimising the resources we have. Training our own staff on up-to-date information will also help us to engage with the University’s students   to assist with implementing future specific projects.”

Niki Holcombe, Production Supervisor, Heirlooms-Linens Ltd

“I thought the course was exceptionally helpful to enable me to further understand current manufacturing techniques and to get the best out of our current systems and processes. I am currently working on some of the plans created during the course which will improve our workflow and efficiency thereby saving on costs.”

 Maureen Baxter, Production employee, ADF Milking

“I could see where I could put things into practice. I would be interested in coming together later to see how everyone is getting on in implementing their systems.”

 All three companies plan to meet again together later in the year to discuss how they have each implemented the tools and techniques outlined in the programme.

 The University of Chichester’s Business School also offers programmes in other areas such as Coaching, Strategic Management, Team Building, Marketing, Supply Chain/Purchasing, and Performance Management on which other companies may like to work on staff development; individually or together.

 If you feel your business could benefit from this exciting approach, or you would like to talk to any of the participating companies please contact: Andrew Adams at a.adams@chi.ac.uk at the University of Chichester’s Business School for an informal discussion.