Deputy Mayor Launches Bakers Life-long Learning Centre

Submitted by on Thu, 26.06.08

The Deputy Mayor of Stockton, Councillor Paul Kirton, officially opened a new state-of-the-art learning centre for employees at Warburtons Stockton Bakery, yesterday, Thursday 19 June.

The ‘Learn for Life Centre’ aims to promote adult learning in the workplace and will enable over 180 staff, across all departments, to enhance their skills and knowledge in areas including IT, literacy, numeracy, communications and Health & Safety.  
 
The new centre boasts work stations equipped with personal computers complete with a full range of software and internet access.
 
The initiative is a partnership between Warburtons and the Bakers Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU), which has donated approximately £3,000 towards the project.
 
The Centre also has links with Stockton Riverside College, Darlington College and Middlesbrough College, which will enable employees to attend courses on everything from assertiveness training to managing health, safety and the environment.
 
Stockton’s Deputy Mayor, Councillor Paul Kirton, officially welcomed the new initiative, he said: “I’d like to congratulate Stockton Bakery and the BFAWU for their vision in creating such an innovative resource. Society and businesses alike are becoming increasingly aware that a life-long learning and development culture is essential to the successful future of industry and the workforce.
 
“It is also a great accolade for Stockton to host this ground-breaking partnership. I’m sure it will be a great success and blueprint for centres of this type in the future.”
 
Guests at the launch included Stockton Bakery staff and senior managers, union officials from the BFAWU and representatives from the local colleges.
 
Joanne Dicks, HR manager at Warburtons Stockton Bakery explains: “Warburtons began as a family business over 130 years ago and it is still a family business today.  Our people are our greatest asset and we are committed to providing equal access to learning opportunities for all our employees.
 
“They have played an integral role in the design and development of the Learn for Life Centre and we hope they will use this facility to boost their personal and professional development, which in turn will allow them to become more adaptable to change and progression as the business looks forward to a bright and successful future.”
 
The Warburtons and BFAWU partnership has a national workplace learning agreement which covers all employees that participate in learning activities across the Warburtons business.
 
The aim of the agreement is to maintain an effective learning and development partnership, which builds upon government and BFAWU learning initiatives and to work with organisations such as the TUC’s Union Learn service and college providers to ensure that the learning partnership is a success.
 
BFAWU shop steward Jason Kelly said: “We are keen to work in partnership with businesses to foster opportunities in the workplace and equal access to training and development regardless of employment status.
 
“Warburtons is a very progressive organisation and the benefits of this type of collaboration via the Learning Centre include improved recruitment, retention and job satisfaction amongst staff.”
 
Warburtons acquired the site of its Stockton bakery from independent baker Rathbones in 2005.  Following extensive renovation and redevelopment costing £6.5m, a virtually brand new bakery was opened in 2006.
 
Since then, a further £2m has been spent on installing more of the latest bakery production equipment, with the crumpet plant being the most recent addition.
 
Warburtons employs 182 people at Stockton, producing over 680,000 products a week, including white Danish, seeded batch, fruit loaves, hot cross loaf and crumpets.
 
The company has another site in the North East, a bakery in Newburn, Newcastle. They are part of a group of 13 bakeries and 17 depots around the country producing over two million products a day.
 
Now the UK’s leading independent baker, Warburtons was established in a grocery shop in Bolton in 1876 by Thomas and Ellen Warburton. Today the business is actively run by the fifth generation of the Warburton family – Brett, Jonathan and Ross.
 
Go to www.warburtons.co.uk for more information.