East of England Co-op finalists in international training awards

The East of England Co-op has been announced as finalists in this year's TJ (Training Journal) Awards, for both Learning and Development Team of the Year and Best Organisational Development Programme.

The six members of the East of England Co-op’s Learning and Development Team are responsible for designing and delivering training for over 4,200 colleagues across a diverse range of businesses from food retail to stonemasonry.

Stephen Flurrie, Head of Learning and Development at the East of England Co-op, said: “The team has built excellent relationships with the business over the last three years through their openness, collaboration and the delivery of some world class training solutions.

“Everything that they deliver is built in collaboration with the relevant departments and practically everything is designed and developed by the team. They‘ve used creativity and innovation, in place of a big budget, to deliver learning that is moving our people forwards and helping to shape the culture of our business.”

The East of England Co-op’s Know How: Leadership programme is a bespoke programme designed especially for their managers, with the aim of transforming people management skills. Over 250 managers at varying levels have now completed the training since its launch in 2015. Results have been far reaching with evaluations showing an increase in skills and effectiveness, combined with a change in culture to a business that embraces development.

The team are also responsible for the East of England Co-op’s Apprenticeship Scheme which launched earlier this year following a successful pilot. Through the Apprenticeships employees are able to move up and move on within the business, help to develop and retain local talent for the future.

In 2016 the team received the prestigious Princess Royal Training Award for their Dementia Friendly Retail training programme, which has now been completed by over 90% of East of England Co-op employees and is being shared with other businesses across the country.

Organised by the Training Journal and now in its twelfth year, the TJ Awards recognise the creativity, passion and hard work of learning and development professionals from around the world. Previous winners include House of Fraser, O2, British Airways and Transport for London.

The winners will be announced at a gala dinner on Tuesday 5 December. A full list of finalists can be viewed at: www.trainingjournalawards.com