Case study

Developing the Skills to Drive Forwards in Challenging Times

Global Brands is an independent drinks company, incorporating everything from manufacturing and distribution to marketing and sales of their products. They also own two hotels in Chesterfield. Employees took part in the Advanced Skills Programme to help develop their skills during a challenging business climate.

European Social Fund in partnership with the Department for Work and Pensions

Expanding Knowledge and Skills

Andrea Shuttleworth is involved in recruitment for Global Brands. She participated in two short online courses to help develop her knowledge of different areas of the business. The first was Entrepreneurial and Small Business Marketing and the second Business Strategy and Risk Management.

The timing of the programme was particularly helpful for their team. Similar to many other businesses, the pandemic had created challenges as Andrea explains. “We have had to furlough many of our staff, which has meant that it can be difficult to stay connected and keep up morale. But with our employees having more time on their hands, we saw the programme as an ideal opportunity to re-connect whilst developing the skills we need to move through the challenges of the pandemic. The extra time we had available meant there was a really good turn-out for the courses.”

Man with arms crossed smiling at the camera

Keeping up morale

“We have had to furlough many of our staff, which has meant that it can be difficult to stay connected and keep up morale. But with our employees having more time, the programme as an ideal opportunity to re-connect whilst developing the skills we need to move through the challenges of the pandemic"

Relevant Course Content

Andrea found the course topics to be particularly relevant in the current climate. The team participated in the Thinking Differently in Challenging Times and Project Management courses to inspire new ideas on how the business can move forward.

The pandemic has meant the marketing team at Global Brands are focusing much more on online promotion, so the Strategic Marketing in a Digital Age course was an ideal way to develop these skills. The course content was developed specifically for the company which Andrea believes was extremely useful.

“The marketing team encompasses a range of staff at different stages in their career, from those just starting out to others who work in more senior roles. Having a course that was tailored to our organisation meant there was an opportunity to address different areas of marketing that were relevant to each part of the team.”

An Interactive Programme Delivered in Real Time

The programme has given Andrea a much broader knowledge of different areas within the business, allowing her to have a better understanding of the roles she recruits for. Unlike many online courses, the Advanced Skills Programme is delivered in real time and for Andrea this was key to its success.

“It meant that we had an opportunity to ask the tutors questions that were relevant to our current circumstances which was invaluable. Participants from other organisations asked questions I hadn’t thought of, which further developed my knowledge of the subject areas.”

The current priority for Global Brands is to keep their staff in employment and continue to grow the business after furlough ends, as Andrea explains. “The marketing team are working hard to generate online sales so that we can continue to sustain the business moving forward, and I’m sure the additional skills developed through the Advanced Skills Programme will help with this. The courses were very high quality, and we received a lot of valuable information in quite a short period of time.”

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