March madness
March was an extremely busy month at Verner Wheelock! We have run courses here every week. In fact on some occasions demand has been such that we’ve run two courses concurrently – at our training centre or at Utopia or The Tempest.
We’ve managed to pack in Level 4 HACCP, Level 4 Food Safety, Training the Trainer and Managing Food Allergens, as well as refresher courses in auditing, food safety, HACCP and training skills.
Refresher courses are extremely useful if it’s been 3 years or more since you last undertook training. They’re also an essential requirement by many external auditors or employers as part of your CPD.
Let’s also not forget 11 in-house courses up and down the country during March. We like to keep our trainers on their toes (and our Training Support Team for that matter)!
Verner Wheelock staff training
We’re firm believers in practising what you preach. So not only do we run courses for the food industry, we also undertake training ourselves. This is what we’ve been doing recently:
Mitch has taken and passed the Auditing Skills Refresher and Level 3 HACCP. Plus he has just passed his FDQ Lead Auditor examination.
Amberley is now a fully qualified First Aider, having passed her Emergency First Aid course. She’s also taken and passed her Level 3 HACCP.
Rachael B has also been busy. She’s been successful in passing her Data Protection examination and Fire Safety training. She also achieved a Pass with Distinction in her Level 3 HACCP examination.
Not to be outdone, Rachel C has completed the Managing Food Allergens course and has passed her Emergency First Aid certificate. She’s also undertaken Social Media for Business training (“I have to be on Facebook and Twitter all the time – it’s part of my job….”). Rachel will be tackling Level 3 HACCP next. She says she’s feeling the pressure already as everyone else in the office has passed.
Fantastic results
Speaking 0f passing exams, we’re over the moon with the great examination results our delegates have achieved. For example we ‘re delighted to announce a 100% pass rate for our recent auditing skills courses. 59 delegates took the exam and there were an impressive 29 distinctions! Well done everyone at Alpla, Dunbia, Pladis and Haribo as well as individuals attending the course here in Skipton.
We’re pleased to report a high level of distinctions in our Level 3 Food Safety and Level 3 HACCP course exams. There were 11 distinctions for Food Safety and 13 distinctions for Level 3 HACCP. This gives an overall pass rate of 96%.
Our advanced level Lead Auditor course at the end of January also delivered 2 distinctions and 6 passes. This is a challenging examination, so we’re extremely pleased with the overall pass rate of 80%.
STOP PRESS: We have just had the results of our April Lead Auditing course – a pass rate of 100% and 3 more distinctions.
Our very own Flying Scotsman!
On my journey to work on 31st March I noticed an inordinate number of vehicle parked up in the laybys on the A629. The drivers and passengers had vacated their cars and were peering through binoculars or setting up tripods.
I suddenly remembered that the famous steam locomotive The Flying Scotsman was due to pass though that morning. Never one to miss a photo opportunity I decided to take a phot myself. So here it is – our very own ‘Flying Scotsman’ Admin Controller Mitch Morrison!
Sweet dreams, Mabel
Along with the successes, we also had some extremely sad news in March. Mabel, one of Alison’s two little dogs died after being knocked down by a car. Many of you will remember Mabel. She was a very sweet-natured Jack Russell terrier with a larger than life bark. The place isn’t quite the same without her. We miss her very much and our condolences are with Alison at this sad time.
Verner Wheelock Awards
We have now delivered all the 2016 Verner Wheelock Excellence Awards to their recipients. For the final award for Individual Excellence, Claire and Rachel visited Harper Green School in Bolton.
Claire presented the Award to Sharron Jacques who is the school’s Senior Catering Officer. Sharron had undertaken our Training the Trainer course in Skipton in July. Course tutor Judith Sunderland nominated Sharron because “her enthusiasm was excellent and she gave the funniest micro-teach of the food handler from hell that I have seen.”
Sharron said “Winning this Verner Wheelock award has been a great confidence-booster and a fantastic recognition for our department within the school.”
Forthcoming Courses
Our Spring/Summer courses are filling up steadily. May courses are all full with the exception of a couple of places, so here is an update of Verner Wheelock courses running in June and July. As ever, if you’d like to book a place, contact Claire on 01756 700802 or use the online booking form at www.vwa.co.uk.
JUNE
Level 4 Food Safety – 5th -7th June – FULL
Auditing Skills – 12th -13th June
Supplier Auditing – 14th June
HACCP Refresher – 15th June
Level 4 Food Safety Update 16th June
Level 3 Food Safety – 19th – 21st June
VACCP & TACCP – 22nd June
Level 3 HACCP – 26th – 27th June
Training the Trainer – 28th& 29th June & 5th/ 6th July
JULY
Level 4 HACCP – 10th -13th July
Level 3 HACCP – 12th – 13th July
To book your place on any of the above courses, please call Claire on 01756 700802 or email claire.lennon@vwa.co.uk