Groundbreaking learning agreement is recipe for success at Northern Foods says Usdaw

Workers across the UK will be celebrating today when their union Usdaw signs a groundbreaking learning agreement with Northern Foods, which manufactures some of the best-known food brands in the country.

This pioneering deal offers work-related training and personal development for staff who will be able to access courses on everything from IT to foreign languages, and from Skills For Life to English for Speakers of Other Languages.

Usdaw General Secretary John Hannett will sign the agreement on behalf of his members at a special event in the company’s head office in Leeds today (Wednesday 11 October). He will be joined by senior company management, and officials from the Bakers Union and the TGWU who are co-signatories to the deal.

“Usdaw has led the way in its drive to promote lifelong learning in companies across the UK and I’m delighted Northern Foods is showing the way in its sector,” said John. “We all want other food manufacturing companies to follow this exciting lead. It’s the clearest example of a win-win situation for both employees and employers that I’ve come across. This new deal will allow time off for staff, provide on-site learning facilities and equip employees with skills to respond to the challenges of the evolving labour market.”

The Cavaghan and Gray site in Carlisle is at the forefront of the revolution in learning and has its own team of learning reps and learning centre. Usdaw convenor Mary Kennedy has witnessed first-hand the impact. “This is a massive commitment from the company and the unions,” she said. “It’s an ideal example of how when we work together we can deliver real improvements for the workforce. Our members in Carlisle are already seeing the benefits of improving their skills in terms of self-confidence, higher morale and better prospects. This is also having a direct and positive impact on the business.”

Norman Pickavance, Northern Foods’ Corporate Services Director, said: “We want to offer all our people the opportunity to learn new skills which will help them not only at work but also in their personal lives. Providing access to knowledge, learning and development is a key strand of our Corporate Responsibility commitment to build a good place to work for our employees.”

Notes to Editors:

• Contacts for newsdesks: Usdaw’s Media Officer, Paul Clarke, can be contacted on 0161 249 2469.
• Usdaw (the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is the UK’s fifth biggest trade union, with over 340,000 members. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the union also has many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemicals and other trades.
• More information and news releases are available at our online Newsroom.
• Journalists can subscribe to receive Usdaw news releases via our online e-news service.
• To stop receiving Usdaw news releases, you can unsubscribe from the mailing list at www.usdaw.org.uk/site/email.html

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© 2003 (USDAW) Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers
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