Refresher courses for the food industry – why do them?

I don’t know about you, but I sometimes find it hard to remember what I did yesterday. Trying to recall what I learned several years ago would be something of a challenge. As the saying goes: ‘use it or lose it.’ That’s why refresher courses are so helpful.

refresher courses in HACCP, Food Safety and AuditingWhy do my skills need refreshing?

Within the food industry, guidelines and regulations are constantly changing. The Food Standards Agency publishes regular campaigns and strategies in relation to new and emerging food hazards. There will be various implications for food importers and exporters once we leave the EU. TACCP and VACCP need to be considered as part of effective HACCP plans. Auditing standards and practices are updated periodically… A lot can change in just a short space of time!

When is the best time to take a refresher course?

If it’s been three years or more since you last took a HACCP, auditing, or food safety training course, refresher training is a good idea. It ensures you have the latest information and techniques to help you perform better in your job. It demonstrates competency to external auditors (e.g. BRC or the major retailers) and that your skills and knowledge are current. It also shows a commitment by your company to CPD.

Where can I find refresher training courses food industryWhere can I take refresher training?

At Verner Wheelock, we run regular HACCP refresher courses, Food Safety Update courses, and Auditing refresher courses. These take place either at our training centre in Skipton or at a customer’s own premises. Many of the delegates attending did their original training with us. However, we also refresh the skills of people who’ve trained elsewhere. For those who’ve taken our Training the Trainer course in the past, we offer a training skills refresher course.

Some people book the refresher courses because they feel their knowledge or skills are a little rusty. Perhaps they have a BRC audit coming up and it might have been a while since they last performed an internal audit. The training course will help them with auditing techniques to ensure they get the best result. All our refresher and update courses last a single day, so they are ideal for those trying to fit training around a busy schedule.

Here are a few examples of delegate feedback from recent refresher courses:

“Just the right content and length of time for the course. Very well presented and with a clear objective.”

“I enjoyed the course and it covered a full update. It covers everything in 1 day instead of a full retrain.”

“Lots of ideas for making my training courses more interesting. Challenging my thoughts on what contents are important and ways to get colleagues to learn.”

“Really enjoyed the course. I thought the course content and delivery were very good. Peter was excellent.”

“Well-structured and easy-to-follow programme. Relevant food safety tips refreshed and updated – thank you.”

If you’re a supervisor, manager, HACCP team member or trainer, or if you’re responsible for auditing within your company, you might like to consider updating your skills. Whether you’re in food manufacturing, catering or hospitality, retail, packaging, or if you’re a grower or producer, you need to ensure that you are compliant and efficient. Refresher courses can give you the tools to help you achieve this.

Verner Wheelock refresher courses entry requirementsWhat are the entry requirements for refresher courses?

To attend our Auditing Skills refresher course, you need to hold an Auditing Skills or Lead Auditor qualification. For Food Safety, you need to have achieved at least a Level 3 Food Safety qualification. For HACCP, you should at least have attained Level 3 HACCP. For the Training Skills refresher, you will already hold a training certificate.

As ever, you can find more information such as the training programme, learning outcomes and next course dates

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