Help and FAQ
1. Attending a Course with Verner Wheelock
Yes! We accept individuals as well as delegates from companies on our open training courses. You can attend in person or remotely – whichever suits you best.
You can find details of how to reach our training centre whether you’re driving, arriving by train or getting a bus, by visiting our contact us page.
Yes. We have free secure parking available very close to our training centre. Please email vwa.training@vwa.co.uk if you wish to use one of our parking spaces and they will send you directions, together with the current access code.
Yes, our training centre is on the ground floor with level access. We also have disabled toilet facilities and parking directly outside the office for delegates with limited mobility.
Our open courses start at 9.30am and generally finish at 4.30pm. If you are attending in person, you can arrive at our training centre from 9.00am onwards and help yourself to refreshments. If you are attending remotely, we recommend logging in at least 15 minutes before the course is due to start so that we can sort out any technical issues before the course starts.
If you are attending face-to-face training with us, lunch and refreshments are provided within the course fee. Please let us know if you have any dietary requirements or food allergies and we will do our very best to accommodate them.
All places must be paid for at least 21 days before the course start date. You can pay by bank transfer, PayPal or credit or debit card. For more information, please see our Terms and Conditions.
The only course where there is an option for accommodation to be included is our Lead Auditor course. This is because there is homework and group work involved. For other courses we are happy to provide an accommodation list of hotels and Bed & Breakfast providers close by.
2. Course Delivery - Classroom, Remote & Online
Open courses are open to anyone, and take place at our training centre in Skipton or by live remote delivery. You will find a mix of delegates from different companies, as well as individuals, on this type of course. They are courses scheduled throughout the year and you can find the upcoming courses and dates by clicking on our training calendar.
In-house courses take place when our trainer visits your premises to deliver the training or alternatively they will provide live remote training. In-house courses are more cost effective than open courses for companies with five or more employees to train in the same subject. You can also select when the in-house course takes place. To obtain an in-house quote, please contact Claire Lennon on 01756 700802 or claire.lennon@vwa.co.uk
Attending a remote course is easy. All you need is a PC, laptop or tablet and an internet connection. We will send you the link to the course a few days before the course date. Simply click the link and you should arrive in the course waiting room. The trainer will admit you to the training session where you will be able to see the trainer and the other delegates.
We deliver our remote courses via Zoom. If you’re unfamiliar with Zoom and would like a practise session, please contact Claire Lennon on 01756 700802 or email claire.lennon@vwa.co.uk and she will be happy to help.
Yes, we have a Basic Food Safety and Hygiene for Manufacturing course which is equivalent to Level 2 Food Safety & Hygiene and certificated by Verner Wheelock. We also offer a Natasha’s Law online course concerning allergen labelling of food which is Pre-packed for Direct Sale (PPDS).
Yes! Any of our existing courses can be made bespoke to your business. These can be an amalgam of different course contents or we can create a completely new course for you from scratch. Please call 01756 700802 for more information.
We have a team of professional trainers, many of whom have been with us for several years. Every one of our trainers has hands-on food industry experience, having worked in various roles prior to becoming trainers. Our auditing trainers are still active auditors, for example. We believe that this industry experience makes a difference, as our trainers are able to answer questions relating to our delegates’ businesses.
3. Problems Attending a Course
If you are training remotely, you should receive your course materials a few days before the course begins. You will be contacted to find out the correct address to send to and you will receive an email from our Training Support Team to let you know that the parcel has been sent to you by courier.
If you have not received your course materials, please contact our Training Support Team on 01756 700802 and they will be able to track the parcel for you.
If you are unable to attend your course, please let us know as soon as possible. If you let us know within x days of the start of the course, you can transfer to the next available course (transfer fees apply). Alternatively you can send another delegate in your place for no extra charge.
Should you let us know you are unable to attend less than x days before the course starts, then the full amount will be chargeable. Regrettably we do not offer refunds.
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4. Exams and Qualifications
We offer courses certificated by the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) and Food and Drink Qualifications (FDQ). Our Delivering Training course is certificated by Highfield. All are recognised by the food industry.
The following courses are certificated by RSPH:
- Level 2 Food Safety & Hygiene
- Level 3 Food Safety & Hygiene
- Level 4 Food Safety & Hygiene
- Level 2 HACCP
- Level 3 HACCP
- Level 4 HACCP
The following courses are certificated by FDQ:
- Auditing Skills
- Supplier Auditing
- Lead Auditor
- Auditing Refresher
- Managing Food Allergens in Manufacturing
- Managing Vegan Requirements
Verner Wheelock has been training the food industry for over 30 years and is a well-known and respected training provider. Several of our specialist courses carry Verner Wheelock certificates.
Most employers require you to take the examination, however in certain circumstances we can issue a Certificate of Attendance. Please call the office for details on 01756 700802.
Examinations for all courses, except for RSPH Level 4 Food Safety and Level 4 HACCP, are taken on the final day of training, as part of the course. Level 4 examinations are generally taken 2 weeks after the course. We will offer you a selection of dates to come into our training centre or, if you are unable to attend due to distance, we can arrange for you to take the examination at your place of work with an approved invigilator..
Yes. We will discuss this option with you when we give you your exam results. For RSPH Level 4 Food Safety and HACCP examinations, you only need to re-sit the paper you failed. There is a re-sit fee for all examinations. Please ask for details. If you decide not to re-sit the exam, we can issue you with a Certificate of Attendance as proof that you have undertaken the training with us.
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There is no expiry date on qualifications. However, to ensure that your training is up-to-date we recommend you attend an Auditing Refresher, HACCP Refresher or Food Safety Update course, if it has been 3 or more years since you gained your qualification.
Provided that you let us know in advance, you will be given extra time to complete your examination. There is a section for this on the Booking Form. You will also be permitted to use a printed dictionary.
Verner Wheelock course certificates are generally dispatched within a couple of weeks of completing your course. For Level 2 and 3 courses in HACCP or Food Safety & Hygiene, you can expect your certificates within 4 weeks. Likewise for our auditing or allergens courses.
Level 4 HACCP and Level 4 Food Safety & Hygiene course certificates can arrive between 8 and 12 weeks of your examination date.
As soon as we have the exam results, we will email you, asking you to call the office. A member of the team will tell you your result verbally and will let you know once the certificate has arrived.
The answer is yes. The time it takes to get a replacement certificate will depend on whether you took an RSPH or FDQ certificated course, or whether it was a Verner Wheelock course. If it was one of our own courses, then we will be able to reprint your certificate and send it to you straight away. We can even send a PDF copy if it is very urgent.
Unfortunately, we do not keep copies of certificates issued by RSPH or FDQ. If you require a replacement we will need to apply on your behalf and there will be a reprint cost involved.
The following courses are certificated by RSPH:
- Level 2 Food Safety & Hygiene
- Level 3 Food Safety & Hygiene
- Level 4 Food Safety & Hygiene
- Level 2 HACCP
- Level 3 HACCP
- Level 4 HACCP
The following courses are certificated by FDQ:
- Auditing Skills
- Supplier Auditing
- Lead Auditor
- Auditing Refresher
- Managing Food Allergens in Manufacturing
If you need proof that you have passed one or more of the above we can provide this as we keep a record of examination dates and results.
For more information, please contact our Training Support Team on 01756 700802 or vwa.training@vwa.co.uk
