1. PURPOSE To define the Company policy on training and development. 2. SCOPE This policy has been developed in line with the organisations overall vision, mission and goals and reflects a belief in the need to develop all permanent and temporary employees, whether employed on a full-time or part-time basis. It is based on the principles that the organisation: thinks of its workforce as an asset as well as a cost, and believes that it should invest in that asset; believes that all its employees have the potential to grow, both in their work role and personally, and it shall endeavour to provide opportunities for this growth; considers it appropriate to base such training and development opportunities on the requirements of the business, and decisions about investment in staff training and development will be made accordingly; believes that responsibility for training and development should be shared between the organisation and its workforce; will ensure that appropriate procedures are in place to plan, deliver and evaluate training and development activity; wants to empower its staff members to take some ownership of their own development, with support from their managers and the organisation as a whole; believes that its line managers have a key role to play in people development; regularly reviews its overall level of investment in staff training and development to ensure that adequate and appropriate resources are provided. 3. AIM As a Company we are committed to the continuing development of all our employees. The development of a highly skilled and motivated workforce is of paramount importance to help the business achieve its vision, mission and goals. 4. INDUCTION TRAINING All new employees to the company should be properly inducted to ensure a smooth transition into the company and their role. The HR department will provide details on the company s terms and conditions, company policies, procedures and benefits while the direct Manager will be responsible for all on-the-job training. The Health and Safety department will provide detail on site safety policies and procedures, and the department Manager will cover department specific safety rules. On the job induction training will also be carried out for employees changing departments within the organisation. This training will be carried out by their direct Team Leader or supervisor. Issue Date: 09/03/2015 Page 1
5. HEALTH & SAFETY TRAINING The objective of Health and Safety training is to ensure legal compliance and minimise the risk of accidents to employees. All employees should receive Health and Safety training as part of the induction process. It is the responsibility of the department manager in conjunction with the Health and Safety Officer to identify the Health & Safety training needs for their department. The training needs should be identified as regularly as required and the Department Manager is responsible for ensuring that the relevant training is carried out. In all cases the training must be certified and copies of certificates, training records etc must be passed to the HR department and held on the employees training file. Health and Safety training is compulsory for all new employees. Training will be evaluated on an annual basis using the number of accidents in that year as an indicator of the effectiveness of the training. 6. JOB SPECIFIC TRAINING It is the responsibility of each Department Manager to identify the training needs for their department on an annual basis and ensure that these training need are met. The Department Manager must ensure that the Internal Management System (IMS) is updated with all training records and that the HR Department is provided with a copy of all certification. The organisation encourages line managers to provide coaching and mentoring support for staff who are undergoing training and development. Managers have a responsibility to ensure that the skills and knowledge of more experienced staff members are shared with more junior employees to ensure that learning occurs in a planned way. Employees are encouraged to make requests for training through their appraisal. Training will be granted where possible and where there is a direct benefit to the employee and the organisation. 7. EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES If an employee expresses an interest in a course and feels it is relevant to their job they may make a request for training by contacting their relevant Supervisor or the Human Resources department directly Issue Date: 09/03/2015 Page 2
8. NVQS Balcas will make every effort to encourage all it s employees to work towards a recognised National Vocational Qualification relevant to their place of work if that is something that they are interested in. Any employee who would like to embark on an NVQ should make their request to their supervisor, or directly to the Human Resources department. If an employee wishes to embark on an NVQ which is not offered in-house then full details of the course including costs, course outline, day release for specific training, and relevance to job must be given on the Further Education Support Request Form and the same terms and conditions apply. 9. FURTHER EDUCATION POLICY An employee can initiate a request for study leave, or financial support for further education, training or development under the Further Education Policy. In order to qualify for Further Education support, employees should have passed their probation period and have no active disciplinary warnings. 9.1. The request should be made in writing on the Further Education Support Request Form and given to the Department Manager. 9.2. The relevant Manager will arrange to meet with the employee to review the request. 9.3. Clarification will be sought on: a) content breakdown of modules on course b) cost including course fees / costs of materials / professional membership c) duration including leave periods / day release etc. d) direct benefit to employee present and future e) direct benefit to the company present and future f) application to the employees job / position. 9.4. The Department Manager will then take full details of the request along with his / her recommendation to the attention of the HR department who will make recommendations to the relevant Director on the validity of the Company support. This assessment will be carried out in a fair and equitable manner and requests of a similar type with similar content and benefit will be treated equally. 9.5. The level and type of support will be agreed upon and will vary with individual requests. If the employee s request does not afford a high level of benefit to the company and to the employee s present job / position, or allow for some future promotion / opportunity in the future, then the financial support and assistance may be reluctantly refused or scaled down accordingly. Issue Date: 09/03/2015 Page 3
9.6. The assessment of the benefit to the company and the employee would be the basis upon which an application may be rejected. The benefit must be significant, in that it will: a) enable the employee to do his / her job better b) enhance the skills or knowledge base of the department / function to which they belong c) enhance the promotional prospects of the employee as determined by the Company and in line with the department s future requirements. 9.7. The outcome of the decision will be communicated to the employee s Department Manager, by the HR department, giving reasons for rejection / agreement and details of the level / type of support proposed. Types of Support Course fees on a sliding scale Essential Materials e.g. text books Time off day release etc Exam fees on a sliding scale. It may be recommended that any financial support agreed will be split between the employee and the Company, with a possible reimbursement to the employee of their investment on the achievement of their qualification etc. This will be detailed in the aforementioned letter to the employee 9.8 On a decision being made, and support being agreed, the HR Manager will draw up an agreement between the Company and the employee to whom the support pertains which will ensure the Company s investment is not futile. This will contain: an employee agreement to remain in employment with the Company for at least one year after the completion of the course / training / further education (or period of time to be agreed in proportion to course of study and support provided) a) if the employee decides to leave the company prior to completion of the course the employee will reimburse the company 100% of the support provided b) an agreement from the employee to reimburse the company 100% if they fail to complete the course c) if they are unsuccessful in achieving the qualification at their first attempt the employee will agree to pay for the re-sit examinations, to ensure achievement of qualification. 10. CONTINUED PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT The Company supports continued Professional Development within all areas of the organisation and under the terms of the Continues Professional Development policy will reward staff accordingly. Issue Date: 09/03/2015 Page 4
11. APPEALS PROCEDURE An employee who has been denied a request for training can appeal the decision within five days of the decision being made. An appeal must be made in writing to the HR department who in conjunction with the relevant Director will review the training request. A decision will be made based on the relevant information and communicated to the employee and their manager. The decision of the appeal is final. 12. EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES In accordance with the Company s Equal Opportunities Policy all training requests will be considered on fair and consistent criteria which relates to ability and job performance, irrespective of: religious belief, political opinion; gender, marital status; disability; race, ethnic background, national origin or sexual orientation. The Company will not discriminate either directly or indirectly on any of the above grounds and will endeavour to provide a harmonious training environment in which no form of intimidation or harassment will be tolerated. Breaches of the Company s Equal Opportunities will be treated as gross misconduct. 12. RESOURCES Balcas will provide all necessary resources to ensure that training requirements are met in so far as possible. This includes the provision of Training Room and an on-site trainer for many of the site s specific training requirements. Reasonable financial resources may be forthcoming for all approved training. 13. GENERAL Requests for all training are solely at the discretion of the Balcas management team. The direct benefit to the person s job will be a deciding factor in all training requests. The Company reserves the right not to grant training. Training and personal development does not guarantee promotion. Any employee who persistently fails to attend training courses organised by the Company may be subject to disciplinary action. 14. MONITORING AND EVALUATING INVESTMENT IN TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT The organisation firmly believes that it is critical to the success of both the planning and delivery of training and development activities that the resources invested are monitored and the outcomes achieved are measured. On completion of any internal or external course the employee will complete a course evaluation form and return this to the HR Department. Analysis of the evaluation forms gathered will be undertaken on an ongoing basis. Issue Date: 09/03/2015 Page 5