BRITISH ACCREDITATION COUNCIL INSPECTION REPORT. INTERIM INSPECTION (Short Course Provider)

Transcription

1 BRITISH ACCREDITATION COUNCIL INSPECTION REPORT INTERIM INSPECTION (Short Course Provider) ORGANISATION: CP Training Consortium ADDRESS: Upminster Court, 133 Hall Lane, Upminster, Essex, RM14 1AL HEAD OF ORGANISATION: Dr Stephen Booy Accreditation status: Accredited Date of inspection: 21 January 2016 ACCREDITATION COMMITTEE DECISION AND DATE: 14 March 2016

2 PART A - INTRODUCTION 1. Background to the organisation The CP Training Consortium (CPTC) is the trading name of CP Training Services Ltd. It was established in 1996 as a small specialist consultancy and training organisation. Originally it provided contracting and procurement training, on an outsourced basis, to the Shell group of companies. At that time it was owned by three family members and provided short courses of up to five days' duration for middle and senior management executives, mainly from the gas and oil industries around the world. From 2000, CPTC's client base expanded significantly to include organisations from a wide range of industrial sectors, such as telecommunications, cement and utilities, as well as a much broader cross section of the oil and gas sector. Gradually, the founder and owner of the organisation, who was also acting as its head, handed over much of the day-to-day running and development responsibilities to a full-time managing director. In August 2015, CPTC was taken over by the Supply Chain Academy Ltd (SCA), which is a private limited company based at Upminster Court, Upminster, Essex and part of the Uniserve Holdings group of companies. The registered office for CPTC has been transferred to the Upminster premises and a management board, which includes the senior managers from SCA and CPTC, has been established to oversee the joint operation. However, the day-to-day management and administration of CPTC s courses is still carried out from the existing address in Hailsham, East Sussex. CPTC hires training rooms in Central London from Regus UK Ltd under an annual agreement. In addition, some new courses, to complement the SCA s existing provision, will now be run at the SCA training facilities at Upminster Court. In an average year, CPTC receives around 200 participants. The majority of participants come from outside the European Union, mainly from Nigeria, the Gulf States and Kazakhstan. Its trainers are drawn from a wide network of training providers and independent training consultants. 2. Brief description of the current provision CPTC delivers a range of training courses. It offers two courses, of five days duration, in manpower planning and supply chain management at level 5 as well as Awards in supply chain management at levels 3 and 5. All of these courses are accredited by the Institute of Supply Chain Management (IoSCM). The awarding body is SFEDI Awards. CPTC also offers a range of short skills based courses, which are not accredited. Key subject areas include contracting and procurement, management and business development, supply chain management, transport and logistics, human resources practitioner staff development, personal skills development, including training and coaching and staff development skills. The majority of courses are offered as public programmes, which are open to participants from any company. Most are also available for in-house delivery. The courses are all of short duration, from three to five days. There are currently a total of 22 participants booked on the short unaccredited courses, of which about half are in the United Kingdom (UK) under student visitor visas. Most participants are sponsored by their employers to attend the courses. 3. Inspection process One inspector conducted the inspection over half a day, starting in the morning. The inspection included a meeting with the Managing Director and the Administration Manager of CPTC as well as with the People Development Director, Director and Client Liaison/Sales Co-ordinator of SCA. The inspector also had a tour of the Upminster court premises, where CPTC will now be holding some of its courses and scrutinised some relevant documents provided by CPTC. This inspection is in relation to UK short course provision only. 2

3 4. Inspection history Full accreditation inspection: 29 and 30 October 2009 Interim inspection: 22 October

4 PART B JUDGEMENTS AND EVIDENCE The following judgements and comments are based upon evidence seen by the inspector(s) during the inspection and from documentation provided by the provider 1. Significant changes since the last inspection In August 2015 CPTC was taken over by the Supply Chain Academy Ltd (SCA), which is a private limited company based in Upminster, Essex and part of the Uniserve Holdings group of companies. Uniserve is a large freight forwarding organisation. SCA provides education services, which aim to develop the education and skills of staff in organisations within the supply chain industry, both in the UK and overseas. The merger brings together CPTC s experience in the organisation and delivery of short skills-based training courses to staff at all levels to support the SCA s focus on offering master classes to senior executives and networking events. Full ownership of CPTC has transferred to SCA and the registered office of the CPTC organisation has been transferred to Upminster Court. As a result, CPTC can now make use of SCA s central services for example in information technology, finance and human resources. However, CPTC will continue to run as a separate business and will continue to provide the same training courses and programmes as previously to its clients. The CPTC Administration Manager continues to co-ordinate course management from the same address as previously. He now has additional administration and sales support from SCA s sales and client services coordinator who is based at Upminster Court. CPTC s Managing Director has been retained in his existing role for at least 2 years and the original founder and chairman has also been retained as a consultant, at least for the next 3 years. Because of the merger, CPTC will now be in a position to continue to expand its offering and promote its courses to additional markets overseas and within the UK, where Uniserve has its client base. It is believed that good opportunities exist in the Middle East and China. CPTC has shortened the duration of some of its courses from five to three days as it is thought that these will be more attractive to the UK market. It has also developed and scheduled an increased number of courses. CPTC also has access now to a larger pool of trainers. This is a result of the merger with SCA and also because CPTC has been undertaking a trainer recruitment drive. For SCA, the merger enables them to offer programmes to staff at all levels in an organisation rather than just the executive level. With regard to the provision, a number of CPTC s courses had been accredited by OCN Credit 4 Learning. CPTC decided not to continue this relationship from the beginning of 2015, mainly due to the developing partnership with IoSCM. SCA has developed a relationship with the University of Huddersfield, which enables their graduates, with some extra work, to go on to obtain a post-graduate diploma and secure employment. CPTC may be able to develop similar relationships to enable it to further promote its courses. Its long-term strategy also includes the development of e-learning and other on-line training resources. Some newly developed courses as well as existing courses, which involve site visits near to Upminster, will now be run at the SCA training facilities. Other courses, including those for international participants, will still be run in central London and will continue to use space provided by Regus UK Ltd. Discussions have now been completed with Regus UK Ltd and a decision has been taken to transfer the central London training arrangement to a new location in Paddington still managed by Regus. The inspector was advised that these premises are of a higher quality than the previous ones, will be able to accommodate the potential larger numbers of participants and have excellent transport links. CPTC is also developing its computer platform with a view to automating the majority of its administration. 4

5 2. Response to actions points and recommendations in last report 6.1 CPTC must ensure that the participants sign in each day and that records are maintained. Trainers use paper based registers each day, which participants sign before and after the lunch break. The register includes a note of any late arrival. The registers are checked by the Administration Manager and the Managing Director of CPTC so that any attendance issues can be followed up. A hard copy of the registers is maintained for record purposes Formal appraisal procedures for trainers should be developed and implemented. Trainers performance is appraised by means of a review of the end of course feedback forms, informal observations of training courses and discussion with participants. However, no formal appraisal procedures are in place. The Managing Director of CPTC is keen to introduce a formal system of training observations and can see the benefits of doing so in order to maintain the quality of the provision. 17.5, 19.2, 19.3 CPTC must introduce a policy document in respect of complaints, discrimination and for procedures for dealing with abusive behaviour. An appropriate information document has been produced which clearly sets out the organisation s approach to equal opportunities, abusive behaviour and handing complaints, including the use of BAC s complaints procedure. This document will be included in the participants welcome pack and is supported by suitable policies, which are available on request. An annual staff seminar/up-date meeting would be a useful addition to the overall communications within CPTC. CPTC has introduced a faculty day involving the key staff of both SCA and CPTC. All trainers are also invited. This is used as an opportunity to communicate major changes, new initiatives and other relevant information as well as to provide training for the trainers. Smart-boards and tablets rather than flip charts could be introduced in certain instances. One of the training rooms in the Upminster venue has a smart-board, which will be used by CPTC trainers as appropriate. Further investment in information technology based resources will take place when finances permit and where they can add value to a training course. A review of the 'terms and conditions' should be undertaken and additions made in respect of the teaching language (English), aspects relating to transfer of courses and cancellation, course attendance and clarification that any legal dispute will be settled under the English judicial system. The confirmation of booking form contains appropriate information about course cancellation by the participant as well as by CPTC. It also mentions the judicial system to be used in the event of an unresolved dispute. Information about the fact that all courses are delivered in English and about the importance of full attendance is appropriately communicated elsewhere. Consideration might be given to an occasional piece of research amongst sponsors and participants to test whether their objectives have been met, possibly 1 to 2 years after attending the course. (This might also be a useful marketing prompt). No action has been taken with regard to this recommendation although the benefits of assessing the impact of attending a course for both the participant and the sponsor company are well understood. 5

6 3. Compliance with BAC accreditation requirements spot check 3.1 Management, Staffing and Administration The standards are judged to be Comments Met Partially met Not met NA Appropriate formal appraisal procedures for trainers 3.2 Teaching, Learning and Assessment The standards are judged to be Comments Met Partially met Not met NA Appropriate formal appraisal procedures for trainers required. 3.3 Participant Welfare The standards are judged to be Comments Met Partially met Not met NA None 3.4 Premises and Facilities The standards are judged to be Comments Met Partially met Not met NA The Group Managing Director of Uniserve purchased the premises in Upminster in there is secure tenure on the premises. Since the purchase, it has been re-furbished to provide very high-quality office and training space. The headquarters of Uniserve are based there as is its education arm, SCA. CPTC is now also using the training rooms for some of its courses. All public entrance gates are protected by a keypad and can only be opened by a passcode or from the reception. A manned reception desk is located by the front door, where appropriate sign-in procedures are in place. The premises are maintained in an excellent state of repair, decoration and cleanliness. Appropriate guidance on health and safety is provided. There are clear evacuation and fire exit notices around the premises. As the whole building is used by the same organisation, there is no need for specific signage outside the building although a mobile sign is displayed outside the main entrance door when courses are running. Appropriate information can be displayed within the building. Circulation space throughout the premises is excellent. A beautifully decorated and furnished room is available to receive visitors and register participants. Toilet facilities are sufficient in number and are maintained at an excellent level of cleanliness and hygiene. 6

7 There is adequate heating and ventilation and very good soundproofing in the premises. There are three rooms that can be used for training - they are of an appropriate size and very well furnished and equipped and are light and airy. One room has a smartboard to enable good use of information technology resources to enhance the training. Therefore, training rooms provide excellent accommodation for the classes allocated to them and for the effective delivery of the courses. There are suitable facilities for conducting any assessments required. There are excellent and well decorated and furnished spaces, that can be used as breakout areas. Participants have access to adequate space and facilities for private study. There are no library facilities although there is good access to WiFi throughout the building. For the type of courses run at the centre, there is limited need for participants to undertake private study. Trainers and staff have access to very good and well equipped working office space and meeting rooms, including in a separate building, known as the Coach House. In the main building there is a very well appointed refectory and bar area for staff and students to relax and to consume food and drink, as well as kitchen space for preparing hot drinks etc. The premises are surrounded by well-kept and attractive gardens. There is high quality and beautifully furnished residential accommodation available so that staff and participants can stay at the centre if required. As a result, the premises provide a first class learning and working environment. 7

8 PART C SUMMARY OF STRENGTHS AND ACTION POINTS Institution s strengths Increased business development opportunities arising from the merger with SCA. Good use of information technology systems to manage the course delivery. Very detailed and effective systems for obtaining participants feedback to maintain the quality of the provision. Actions required Priority H/M/L 11.3 Appropriate formal appraisal procedures for trainers must be developed and implemented. M Recommendations Develop and implement appropriate ways of assessing the benefits to participants and sponsor companies of attending a CPTC course, when participants are back in their workplace. COMPLIANCE WITH STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS Declaration of compliance has been signed and dated. YES Further comments, if applicable It is recommended that the new training premises in Paddington, which are also managed by Regus UK Ltd, undergo a supplementary inspection at the same time as the next scheduled inspection. 8