Healthy approach to Training

Proactive training practices at a major North East pharmaceutical organisation are just what the doctor ordered. Developing the skills of its workforce has saved Morpeth-based Piramal Healthcare (UK) Ltd, over £320K and almost 16,000 man-hours in the last year.

The results are the fruits of Piramal's commitment to training all 350 of its employees in the National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) at Level 2 in Business Improvement Techniques (BIT). Widely recognised in the business community, BIT is seen as an effective tool for maintaining productivity and competitiveness.

To help put its ambitious plans into practice, the company has enlisted the support of Derwentside College and the NAC group, as well as funding from the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) and North East's Train to Gain and Apprenticeship programmes.

As part of its development plan, each employee is receiving a minimum of six day's training – equal to over 40 hours – with the College, as well as additional work-based project work. Four of the sixteen groups have already completed the BIT qualification, helping the company to reap the rewards of the major financial gains and time savings.

The company culture is also encouraging employees to apply continuous improvement techniques to problems that they face on a daily basis. For example, a Piramal incentive programme called the 'Golden Ticket' sees individuals and teams compete for the best implemented improvement idea. Since the scheme was introduced in June 2008, there have already been savings in excess of £963K.

On top of this, a waste and environmental improvement strategy has been put into practice, which has involved additional training for Piramal's environmental facilitators. This has helped to challenge some of the company's existing waste management practices. Results include an increase in the recycling of waste metal and plastic by over seven tonnes a year, savings of over £650,000 in energy costs and a reduction of CO2 emissions by approximately 5,000 tonnes.

Employees and their families also have access to Piramal's Learning Centre, which is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The centre provides access to a wide range of personal development material, such as computer-based training packages, videos, DVDs, books and periodicals.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the company's commitment to its employees has gained Piramal a continuous 'Investor in People' award for the last 18 years. On top of this Piramal was recently named the winner of the LSC North East's Celebration of Learning and Skills (CoLaS) 2009 Workforce Commitment award.

"We believe that every individual employee – given the necessary skills – can make a big difference. We have worked hard to improve the skills of our workforce and the results speak for themselves," said Martin Hunt, manager of strategic marketing (EU), Piramal Healthcare.

"As well as major costs and efficiency savings, we have protected our performance figures, making the company profitable in the very first year after it was sold in 2006. The Business Improvement Techniques training programme has already had a huge impact on our business in a relatively short space of time.

"The vast majority of our recent savings have been as a direct result of projects and ideas initiated and completed by employees, who have embraced and implemented continuous improvement skills in-line with the training that they have received. As further employees complete the training and their newly acquired skills are passed on to others within our organisation, we are expecting to see even greater returns down the line," he continued.

Dorothy Smith, interim regional director, LSC North East added: "Piramal's approach to training and skills development is extremely commendable. Increasing the skills of your workforce is an ongoing and essential part of business, especially if you want to remain effective, competitive and profitable."

For more Information contact: Michael Quinlyn-Nixon on (01207) 585900 (ext 809)

Piramal staff with the winning CoLaS award, which was presented to the company for their workforce commitment on 3 April 2009

9 April 2009