The Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union have been working with a number of food manufacturers across the country to build up English and maths skills amongst the workforce, and their members.

One employer has been Pennine Foods in Sheffield, which is part of the 2 Sisters Food Group, where BFAWU Union Learning Rep, Lisa Greenfield has linked up with Dearne Valley College to offer English classes to workers.

Lisa said that they currently have English classes running, they are also offering basic IT stills for those that request this:

The English classes are extremely popular, this is the second set of classes to be run on this site.

To find out what members want, and what their learning needs are we have open days where we take time to talk to everyone. Often on this site we don’t even have to do that, once people know we are taking registrations there is a line at the door waiting to register.”

One of the most important things to get right in a factory when many workers are on different shifts is to find a provider that will accommodate varying shift patterns.

Lisa has been really pleased with the way things have worked out with their provider and said

If the provider wants to work with us they have to be flexible and understand the nature of our industry. We have been very lucky with Dearne Valley College who understand this and have worked around us to meet the needs of the learners.

The way the college has worked is by having a workshop type session. This means people can drop in when they have finished or before they start their shift.”

It is also important to have the backing of the employer, and in the case of English classes at Pennine, this has worked out, as Lisa explains

Management have been very supporting as they can see the benefits of learning. The HR manager has played a pivotal role in this as she has ensured managers know that people need to be released to attend. It also helps that the Branch Secretary fully supports the ULRs on site.”

This is just the beginning of the learning journey at Pennine Foods, for the workers and the employer, and the site is now looking at apprenticeships.

Lisa is really pleased with the way things have worked out at the company and summed up by saying

The passion for learning is contagious and I hope to be adding additional classes once the latest course has been completed.”