Academy of Learning has clients and partners in both the public and private sectors. For some clients we act as a training provider, whilst for others we are a project partner.

Below are a cross section of our clients and partners.

Auction Assist

C2C Rail Ltd.

East Herts Council

Five Lakes Hotel

Learning and Skills Council Essex

Learning and Skills Council Hertfordshire

Learning and Skills Council London East

National Federation of Sub Post Masters

Port of Tilbury

One Railway

Radisson Hotel, Stansted

Sainsbury

Tate & Lyle

Case Study of the training experience of our client Retail Design Solutions;

Overview of the organisation

Retail Design Solutions (Consultancy) Limited is a CAD design company specialising in planning building retail layouts for superstores. The company has been established for 12 years and has grown in personnel from 4 to almost 40. The current economic climate affecting the retail sector has highlighted the need for diversification and promoting other services on offer such as surveying in order to take the company to the next level in its development. The directors have a wealth of experience in the retail sector which is one of the key features differentiating it from its competitors, they are not ‘just designers’ they are people with a thorough understanding of project management

The recession of 2008 had a severe effect on the company due to the dramatic downturn within the retail sector resulting in the redundancy of 6 members of staff. Providing CAD support for Superstores is the primary area in which the company operates and this highlighted the need for diversification. As a result the company has a plan to move into other areas. Investing in equipment to enable RDS to carry out topographical surveys has provided the company with another offer to promote to existing and prospective clients.

Keys to Success

The keys to the organisation’s success are:-

Professionalism
Understanding
Creativity
Practical Insight
Investment in the workforce

Retail Design Solutions (Consultancy) Limited has achieved Investors in People accreditation with 13 members of staff achieving NVQ level 2 qualifications within the last 12 months. The company has also been successful in achieving the Safe Contractor award which is a requirement to work within some of the Superstore chains. It is currently working towards ISO 9000:2008

Expectations from Training and Development

Retail Design Solutions had previously conducted all training in-house. In August 2008 the company was introduced to the benefits of NVQ training, and when funding became available through the Advantage East project, managed by Ixion and funded through the Learning & Skills Council and the European Social Fund, the funding enabled 5 Project Executives on Business and Administration Level 2 and at a later date 8 further members of staff on Team Leader Level 2.

The NVQs were delivered by Academy of Learning Ltd., the aim was to develop teams within the organisation that were effectively small businesses within one large business. The expectations were that with the benefit of NVQ training, the Project Executives would be able to organise themselves and their team to run efficiently and effectively as a small business developing business and organisation skills. The NVQ qualification in Business and Administration seemed ideal for this purpose. The intention was then following on from achieving the Business and Administration Level 2, the Project Executives would then take the Team Leader qualification to manage and develop their own team.

Benefits Received and Impact on the Business

The benefits received within the Company have been recognised by both Management and Clients. Work is properly planned and organised. Time planning and client budget constraints are considered when allocating work, thus resulting in greater efficiency and profitability of the company, providing cost-effective solutions for our clients securing repeat business during this difficult economic climate.

On a personal level, staff have a better feeling of self-worth building a strong, motivated team ready to take on new and larger projects with the minimum of reorganisation once the current climate improves.

The Company is now committed to a structured training and development programme and has introduced the NVQ qualification into all development and promotional programmes.

23.10.2009