Training

Recognising and extending staff skills

1 February 2009



The recently established NVQ Level 2 in laundry operations, backed by Government funding, brings benefits for both laundry management and their staff. Janet Taylor visited Regency Laundry in Bath to see the training in progress


Regency Laundry managing director Steve Dummett and his staff are enthusiastic supporters of the Government-backed Train to Gain initiative.

This month the company will be the first to start the modules for the drycleaning NVQ and at the end of the month it will put its third group of staff through the NVQ laundry operations programme organised by Jon Ayres, the NVQ trainer and assessor from Bridgwater College in Somerset.

The laundry has been established in Bath for well over 100 years. It has both a commercial and domestic side as well as five retail drycleaning shops in the area.

On the commercial side it specialises in the 5-star hotel market. Although its customers are mainly in the Bath area, it has just won a contract for the glamourous, Art-Deco style Burgh Island Hotel situated off the Devon coast and linked to the mainland by its own causeway.

“All our hotels are prestigious, and attract guests looking for luxury and that is why it’s important that staff have the right skills,” says Steve Dummett. As well as the Devon hotel, the list of customers includes the Royal Crescent in Bath, and Lucknam Park country house hotel in Chippenham, Wiltshire.

The first training group to take the NVQ in laundry operations consisted of eight employees, and all passed the exam in autumn 2008. A second group, of seven staff, was quickly organised and in process when I visited.

Dummett says the training has been very well received by the staff. Most have been with the company a long time, often for 30 – 40 years. Staff turnover is very low.

He was a little doubtful at first about an external training scheme, it can sometimes be difficult, but as soon as Jon Ayres, the NVQ trainer and assessor from Bridgwater College walked through the door “his commitment was obvious” and both Ayres and the college have worked closely with the laundry.

Ayres is equally enthusiastic about working with Regency Laundry. He says it’s a brilliant laundry to work in because it handles a wide range of materials and has a broad variety of equipment.

The NVQ Level 2 in laundry operation is nationally recognised as equivalent to five good grade GCSEs. There are three mandatory subjects – health and safety, sorting and packing and dispatch – but staff can also take optional units, classed under the broad headings, washing methods and finishing. In each they can cover specific machines.

He is also impressed with the staff’s enthusiasm. “It’s hugely satisfying for me. We have people taking the course who have worked in the laundry for 30 years. What we’re doing is recognising and rewarding the experience and knowledge they have gained.”

The training may have presented some challenges, ”but they have overcome them.”

Dummett makes a similar point. “We sometimes overlook the experience people have and also their willingness to train.” He feels that the enthusiasm is partly due to the rapport that Jon Ayres, as trainer, has established.

Ayres also explains that the “Train to gain” initiative presents a good opportunity for the industry.

The government is pushing the initiative in the laundry industry and has even broadened the scheme by extending funding to employees that already have a qualification. It means that even those with an NVQ in a different subject can be trained in laundry skills.

Ayres stresses that the scheme is a partnership between himself and Regency Laundry. He delivers the theory and the laundry provides the practical experience. The training sometimes extends beyond the demands of the NVQ.

When the third course is completed the business will have put nearly half its commercial staff through the NVQ programme.

Regency Laundry is clearly proving that the new NVQ brings a valuable opportunity, for the business, for its staff and also for the industry.

Summing up Dummett says: “We’re proud of what we’ve got as a business but more importantly we’re proud of our staff.

“It’s not an easy industry but the staff come up trumps when the cards are down.”

He adds: “This is a people industry. It is about individuals who have the ability to work and to learn.”

Regency Laundry clearly values such individuals and gains from doing so.

Nicholas Platt

Nicholas Platt has been a charge hand in the domestic department for just over two years.

He had already done an NVQ in mechanics, and was now taking the NVQ Level 2 in laundry operations

“It teaches you to do your job better. You know now what you might have been doing wrong.”

As an option he chose to specialise in the operation of the rotary press. He chose this because he has worked on it and is therefore familiar with the machine.

Donna Mitchell

Donna Mitchell, a supervisor in the domestic laundry section, has been with the company 29 years this year. One of the reasons she wanted to take the NVQ training was that “ I felt it would be good to do it and nice to have something to show that I knew my job.”

She was one of the first group of employees to take the course, all of whom passed. Members of Donna’s family also work for Regency.?Her brother has been there for 32 years and her son, a trainee engineer, for five. Her mother had worked there for 34 years.

Donna clearly likes her work and has a sense of commitment. She enjoyed the course as it gave her the opportunity to “learn something new.”

Asked about her favourite part, she picks out health and safety and says the knowledge she gained will help her to work in a safer environment because she is now more aware of the possible risks.

Donna feels that she can use her knowledge to help staff and that she now has a lot more to offer in the job. Perhaps some of her enthusiasm has been passed on to her family. Her brother was in the second group and her son will be in the third group.

Sharon Daniels

Sharon Daniels works on the table linen calender and is in her fifth year with the company.

One of the second group to take the course, Sharon chose to do this because she wanted to learn more about the laundry as a whole.

She says the health and safety aspect is very important and has also learned a lot more about the sorting processes.

Janet Rabbits

Retail shop supervisor Janet Rabbits does not work directly in the laundry but she asked if she could take the NVQ to broaden her experience so that she could talk knowledgeably and confidently to customers about how Regency could handle their clothes.

Janet chose wash processes, and completed and passed the final element of her course while I visited the laundry – she is seen here answering assesment questions by Jon Ayres.

When she started. Janet knew nothing about the machines or how they work. She told trainer Jon Ayres she knew where the machine was but that was all. Now she told me confidently how the washer worked, what the chemicals did and how they reached the machine at the right time.

Although it’s not part of her daily job, she could now, if necessary run a wash load. She has even, with the help of a colleague worked out a wash program.

Paula Briant

Table linen supervisor, Paula Briant decided that this was an opportunity to gain a qualification and she passed the exam in September 2008. She has been working in the laundry for seven years.

Paula chose the tumble dryer and the batch washer as her options. “I thought I might as well do the biggest and hardest machines as I might not get another chance and this has been an achievement.

She added: “The part I liked best was the assessment. It’s one-to-one and shows that you can do it and give the right answers to the questions.”

Tom Perret

Tom works in the sorting department of the commercial section but has also worked in the domestic section. One of the first to take the NVQ course, he did so because he wanted to have a qualification.

Sorting is one of the mandatory elements, but Tom took options on the rotary press and the shirt press in the domestic section. He had already trained on these machines but still felt it was interesting and he learned a lot.


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