Welcome to our March update – keeping you informed of all the latest news from Verner Wheelock Associates.
March Training Courses
Our busy start to to the year continued throughout March with plenty of repeat business from existing customers as well as several new clients coming on board, resulting in probably the most successful 1st quarter at VWA ever! (Despite having mountains of snow and various members of staff being snowed in! At least the dogs enjoyed it!)
We held both Level 4 Food Safety and Level 4 HACCP training courses in Skipton, along with specialist 1-day courses including our Validation and Verification Workshop, Supplier Auditing, Managing Food Allergens and our Ethical Trading Workshop.
In-house courses included several tailored food safety awareness courses for Carrs Flour Mills, Level 3 HACCP and Auditing refresher training for Lancashire Trading Standards, Auditing Skills at Cranswick Country Foods and Alpla Ltd, Supplier Auditing and HACCP refresher training for the Co-operative in Manchester, and the last in a series of Level 3 Food Safety courses for Makro.
With the majority of our in-house courses taking place close to home across the North of England recently, it was good to be able to spread the net further afield as we welcomed a delegate from Nigeria on our Level 4 HACCP and Food Safety courses, and took our first ever booking from Egypt on October’s Savoury Flavours course. Claire is also in regular contact via Skype and email with a potential client in the Falkland Islands, considering a range of courses for delivery on-site and online.
Results
We have now received all the results in the series of Level 3 Food Safety courses for Makro – well done to all those who passed or achieved a Distinction.
Also, results for several Level 4 HACCP candidates came in this month with one delegate achieving a rare Distinction for which she received over 80% on both exam papers. Congratulations to Kirsty Lythgoe from Aunt Bessies in Hull on this fantastic achievement!
Feedback and testimonials – HACCP Refresher Training
Here are just a few comments on the course and tutor, Peter Clarke, from our recent HACCP refresher. This course next runs in Skipton on 21st May. We can also run this as an in-house course which allows it to be tailored to the exact requirements of your company. Here’s what previous delegates had to say:
“Got the balance of interaction and ‘refresher’ training just right.”
“Excellent communicator and presentation skills.”
“Very thorough review of all aspects plus valuable input from other delegates giving good examples of issues, current practice etc.”
“Good overall refresher on HACCP. Well paced”
“A well-structured course”
Case studies
The following case study is now featured on our website:
Country Products Ltd
Production Manager Nigel Robertshaw has attended a number of our courses and commented, “VWA is a hospitable and welcoming training company that enables clients to enjoy the courses I have attended. The admin staff provide good communication with the client and ensure that you are kept informed every step of the way.”
Fundraising
When Nicola Aitken from Bettys & Taylors of Harrogate attended our Level 4 Food Safety course she mentioned that she was about to shave her head in to raise funds for one of her colleagues children who was born with Aperts Syndrome, a genetic disorder resulting in deformities particularly to their skull and hands. Here at VWA we all wanted to contribute to the two worthy charities being supported – namely Headlines( to support families of children with facial disfigurements), and Yorkshire Air Ambulance. Between us we donated £75 in return for some photos from the headshaving event – and here they are!
First of all, Nicola had a teapot shape on her head
And then she went the whole hog and followed in the footsteps of Sinaed O’Connor, and more recently, Jessie J who shaved her head for Comic Relief! Well done Nicola for being so brave!
