Cleaning up in business
With new offices opened recently in London and Birmingham; being named by a Government watchdog - The Adult Learning Inspectorate, the government body responsible for the quality of education and training for adults and young people - as one of the country's best training companies and accolades such as the Investors in People Standard and the Matrix Award, B-Skill is certainly cleaning up in business.
Since B-Skill was set up in March 2000 to provide training in cleaning, support services in healthcare and Health & Safety for employers, adults and young people, the Tyne and Wear-founded company has gone from strength to strength. Now with five regional offices in Birmingham, Harlow, Leeds, London and Newcastle, along with employees and customers all over the UK, B-Skill puts its success down to one key ingredient - a commitment to providing the very highest standards of quality.
With the majority of the company's courses and qualifications centred on the 'Support Service industries,' its range of tailor-made training packages includes areas as diverse as Cleaning Buildings, Cleaning Food Premises, Caretaking, Health & Safety, Vehicle Valeting, Catering and Support Work for Healthcare Organisations.
Added to that, B-Skill has also been quick to meet the growing demand from employers who want their workers to keep abreast of developing health & safety legislation, as well as competing effectively for cleaning contracts, adhering to stricter tendering processes and being able to withstand the public scrutiny that accompanies health care work.
As a result B-Skill can now boast a customer base which includes major healthcare organisations such as the NHS and BUPA, local councils, HM Prison Service and numerous blue chip companies.
Managing director, Paul Wileman, explains: "B-Skill already has a great reputation in the North East of England, where our business was first founded. So we were really delighted to discover that we are already amongst the top companies of this type in the London area as well. This puts us in a good position to help local support service companies and departments to plan ahead and develop their employees, so that they too can secure extra work from large scale events such as the 2012 Olympics.
"More and more organisations are now looking to us to help them train their support workers. It shows that they understand the impact that these important employees can have to the success of an organisation."
This is something that Paul Champion, director for B-Skill, is quick to agree on. "Issues surrounding business excellence and, in particular, effective people development, are becoming increasingly important for the competitive business. As well as the larger organisations, many smaller companies are also recognising the need to have good people development plans embedded in their every day work and their long-term thinking."
And with Paul's wife, Karen Champion, working for the company as its quality improvement manager, it is evident that B-Skill has a commitment to providing excellent customer service and delivery standards, which have been recognised through the accreditation by a number of outside bodies.
One of B-Skill's happy customers is Beverley Miller, Cleaning Manager, New College Durham, who said: "I am fully aware from experience that our staff are apprehensive when introducing anything new. So the thought of training, well that was unthinkable! The response being 'we're only cleaners' is a phase I've heard a thousand times before. These people who are 'only cleaners', I am pleased to say are personally responsible for the first impression of clients, customers and visitors. And although I constantly tell my staff they do a fantastic job, they often feel that it's a thankless task.
"Yet after only two visits from B-Skill, my staff have benefited by feeling more respected and realising the importance of their role within the organisation. This in turn has increased their self confidence and has given them pride in their achievements."
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