James Beattie PLC INSPECTION REPORT: JAMES BEATTIE PLC JULY 1998
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TRAINING STANDARDS COUNCIL INSPECTION REPORT JULY 1998 James Beattie PLC INSPECTION REPORT: JAMES BEATTIE PLC JULY 1998 SUMMARY James Beattie PLC provides outstanding provision for trainees in retail and business administration in five of its nine stores. Training is well planned and well delivered. The company has a high proportion of assessors carrying out continuous and fair assessment. Trainees are confident, motivated, enthusiastic and clearly focused on providing excellent customer service. Achievement is high, with most trainees achieving both a qualification and a job, many within the company. The support for trainees is comprehensive and works throughout the programme. Training is well managed, and there is good quality assurance with a consistent standard across all five stores. Equal opportunities data are regularly monitored and analysed, but the proportion of trainees from minority ethnic groups is low, in spite of efforts to attract them. GRADES OCCUPATIONAL AREAS GRADE GENERIC AREAS GRADE Retailing & customer service 1 Equal opportunities 2 Trainee support 1 Management of training 1 Quality assurance 1 KEY STRENGTHS ¨ effective training and assessment ¨ large number of assessors ¨ high achievement, retention and employment rates ¨ comprehensive trainee support ¨ off-the-job residential course ¨ well-managed training ¨ strong management team ¨ good communication ¨ comprehensive evaluation ¨ good record-keeping ¨ consistent quality KEY WEAKNESSES ¨ attempts to recruit trainees from minority ethnic groups have largely failed ÓTraining Standards Council INSPECTION REPORT: JAMES BEATTIE PLC JULY 1998 INTRODUCTION 1. James Beattie PLC, founded in 1877 in Wolverhampton, is a retailer with nine department stores across the country. Five stores were inspected: Wolverhampton, Birkenhead, Solihull, Dudley and Sutton Coldfield. They offer youth training and have contracts with Birmingham & Solihull, Dudley, and Merseyside Training and Enterprise Councils (TECs) and Wolverhampton Chamber of Commerce, Training and Enterprise. The company has been involved in training young people and retail management training for over sixty years. At the time of inspection, there were 56 trainees on the youth training programme. Training is provided on the job and at local colleges in Dudley and Birkenhead, with additional in-house training and assessment. Trainees have six-month placements in a variety of departments. A significant feature of the youth training programme is a week’s residential outdoor development course. Eighty-seven per cent of trainees who complete their training gain employment in Beatties or other retailers. Trainees have the opportunity to become management trainees. Many of the current managers in Beatties started as youth trainees. Beatties has a strong training culture and is particularly committed to developing young people through government-funded training programmes and links with local schools and community initiatives. The company has a low staff turnover and absenteeism. There are 1,497 staff in the five stores inspected. Most staff, known as members, have long service within the company. In these same five stores, the percentage of staff from minority ethnic groups is 4.5 per cent. In March 1998, the company was awarded Retail Week Retail Employer of the Year Award in recognition of its company-wide training. 2. Unemployment in the West Midlands, at 6.9 per cent, is higher than the national average of 5.1 per cent. Traditional manufacturing industries have declined by 30 per cent, and service sector jobs have increased from 49 per cent of the workforce to 68 per cent, of which 18 per cent work in retail. Beatties’ stores are located in main towns and cities within expanding shopping centres. ÓTraining Standards Council INSPECTION REPORT: JAMES BEATTIE PLC JULY 1998 INSPECTION FINDINGS 3. Beatties produced its self-assessment report in May 1998. The company used a small working party consisting of a representative from each store and involving trainees, managers and staff. The company used direct observations, documentary evidence, and formal and informal feedback to identify strengths and weaknesses. The report was comprehensive, professionally produced and accurate. The self- assessment process raised awareness of good practice activities at each store and has already led to improvements taking place. 4. A team of three inspectors spent a total of 12 days at Beatties. Eighty-one people were interviewed, including 44 trainees, at the five stores involved in youth training. Portfolios and documents were reviewed. Training and assessment were observed and graded as follows: Grades awarded to instruction sessions GRADE 1 GRADE 2 GRADE 3 GRADE 4 GRADE 5 TOTAL Retailing & customer service 3 3 Total 0 3 0 0 0 3 OCCUPATIONAL AREAS Retailing & customer service Grade 1 5. The company had 56 trainees at the time of inspection, including five trainees working towards business administration national vocational qualifications (NVQ) level 2. Most trainees are working towards the retail operations NVQ at level 2. At the Birkenhead store, NVQ level 3 has been piloted. All young people who apply for training are interviewed. Trainees are placed in a department and receive on-the-job training from their department manager (who is also their work-based assessor), other department staff, their mentor and the youth co-ordinator. Off-the-job training includes workshops with the youth co-ordinator, a residential outdoor course, sessions from Beatties’ in-house training programme and employment opportunities training. At the Dudley and Birkenhead stores, employment training takes place at a local college. Trainees have the opportunity to move among departments during their training, covering a minimum of four departments. Continuous assessment takes place on the job. Trainees are encouraged to apply for jobs within the store. The self-assessment report identified several strengths and weaknesses. The inspectors identified additional strengths and no weaknesses. The grade awarded by the inspectors was higher than that proposed by the company. STRENGTHS ¨ effective training programme, well planned and delivered ÓTraining Standards Council INSPECTION REPORT: JAMES BEATTIE PLC JULY 1998 ¨ a rich mix of training and learning opportunities ¨ high ratio of assessors to trainees ¨ well-trained assessors ¨ trainees evaluate assessment process ¨ company culture of training and assessment ¨ positive feedback from trainees ¨ high achievement levels WEAKNESSES ¨ no significant weaknesses GOOD PRACTICE 6. The training programme has a clear structure, with monthly modules studied over All trainees take part in a a two-year period. Each module has on- and off-the-job training, with group week-long outdoor residential development sessions provided by the company. There is continuous assessment on the job. programme provided by a Achievement levels are high, with 100 per cent of trainees who remain in training specialist youth achieving NVQ level 2, and 87 per cent of trainees get jobs. The programme drop- development organisation. The out rate is 8 per cent. Training is relevant, integrated into the job and fully supported objectives are set out in a by the senior management team. There are high-quality and generous resources. pre-course guidance Trainees are included in the recognition and rewards culture of the company. They booklet which trainees receive presentations, gift vouchers and their achievements are promoted in the and trainers work on in the six weeks before the company. course. Trainees are encouraged to take 7. Training is well delivered by experienced and qualified staff. There are 53 responsibility for their own learning by making a assessors, spread throughout the five stores, who are well trained and receive regular presentation, on return to refresher training. The internal verification process is well managed. Internal their stores, to their verification is integrated with training and assessment. In the Dudley store, the managers. Trainees assessment process is reviewed every 16 weeks by focusing on the trainees’ return from the course well motivated, confident progress. In the Birkenhead store, the internal verifier is a department manager who in their abilities and more is fully involved in reviewing the programme and in planning on- and off-the-job able to work as a team. training. Trainees were able to express how they felt the changes had benefitted 8. The off-the-job programme is planned and delivered well, with clear links to the them and helped them in NVQ requirements and the needs of the stores. Trainees are involved in the their work. company’s customer service and telephone techniques training programmes. Additional training includes first aid, employability training and a residential outdoor personal development course. Trainees clearly understand their training and assessment programme. Records are comprehensive and well maintained. Key skills are not yet integrated into the training programme. ÓTraining Standards Council INSPECTION REPORT: JAMES BEATTIE PLC JULY 1998 9. Evaluation of training takes place after each off-the-job training session, and there is an effective system of interviews for leavers, detailing career opportunities. Mentors check trainees’ off-the-job learning, complete an induction checklist and feed back to department managers and the youth co-ordinator. Trainees are asked to evaluate the assessment process and their assessors’ performance. 10. The recruitment process is open and