Ealing Hospital is one of 130 UK hospitals to have contracted the services of Medirest.
The Ealing-based Medirest team undertakes a wide range of duties, from portering
services through to cleaning and waste management, and catering.
Jim Cloney, Deputy Hotel Services Manager for Medirest at Ealing Hospital, was keen for a number of
his team members to acquire
new skills. He said: “Medirest is committed to ensuring that training and development are at the heart of what we do.
“IT literacy is becoming an increasingly
important requirement of our work within the healthcare sector. Many of our people felt they would benefit
from improving their computer skills, gaining confidence and knowledge when faced with IT-based tasks.
The new skills would also allow them to take on new responsibilities and expand their work role.”
A Train to Gain skills broker visited Jim and the Medirest team at Ealing Hospital in order to conduct a comprehensive assessment of their training needs.
The skills broker recommended ITQ, a
National Vocational Qualification (NVQ)
Level 2 which is aimed at IT users. It proved ideal because it could easily be customised to meet the specific training requirements of the
Medirest team members and their diverse roles within the company.
Jim knew his team would be keen to get involved. He said: “Training like this gives our employees a nationally recognised qualification, which they really value. It also gives them a sense of achievement – and they enjoy it!”
As expected, the prospect of IT training went down extremely well with the team: 12 people signed up to undertake the course. One of them was Tom Kennedy, who works
as a porter and domestic supervisor for the hospital’s Accident and Emergency department. He leapt at the opportunity for IT training, because: “You can’t do without a
computer these days.”
The training is being successfully delivered by Uxbridge College at its Hayes Community Campus. Learners are able to supplement their weekly classes with online studying at a
time and place of their choosing.
|
|
The ITQ course is going well for all
12 learners. Jim is very satisfied with the Train to Gain experience because his team is noticeably more confident at work. Armed with their new IT skills, people are now very comfortable using computers when required to, such as for logging blood and plasma. This in turn is helping to drive up levels of efficiency and productivity.
Charge Hand Radomir Spasic, who
supervises the porters, said: “Uxbridge College had everything we needed and, if we wanted to find something out, we knew our tutor was there to help us. Doing this course has given me more confidence to carry out my duties.”
Jim is convinced that this training will also help to improve employee retention levels. He said: “I strongly believe that if you induct someone properly, give them a mentor and
proper training, you’ll retain them. Trained people who want to progress can be promoted from within, which always makes good sense.
“I would recommend this training through Uxbridge College. There are benefits all round: for the employer, the employees, the industry and even the country.”
|
