• November 2007

• July 2007

• Courses - even

• April 2007

• March 2007

• February 2007

November 2007

Food Manufacture Excellence Awards 2007: Stars of the show
Published: 08 November, 2007

The very best in UK food manufacture were recognised in a glittering awards ceremony held on the 7th November at The Marriott, Grosvenor Square in London.

Poultec Training Limited of Mattishall, Dereham nominated one of their learners, Craig Riches. Craig, who works for Banham Poultry was delighted to be shortlisted for the Apprentice Award of 2007 and attended the event with his tutor, Alun Lane ; Poultec Managing Director , Edward Bales and Peter Riches, Craig's father and himself a manager at Banham Poultry .

A record number of entries this year meant that competition was particularly tough and the shortlist included companies such as Grampian Country Food Group and Schwans Consumer Brand. It was with great pride therefore, that Craig recieved the award as this years winner of the Apprenticeship Award.

The judges were really impressed with the way Craig's career has developed and felt him a very deserving winner. "There was good evidence of job progression in this entry - from part time forklift driver in 2000, to team leader when the apprenticeship completed," said one judge. "It's great to see people reaching their full potential."

Edward Bales of Poultec Training added "Its great to see young people get the recognition that they deserve and Craig really deserved this award."

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July 2007

Poultec Celebrates Learning

Learn, excel and be recognised! That was certainly the theme at the Celebration of Learning held by Poultec Training of Mattishall near Dereham on 26th July. At this annual event Poultec gathered together the most outstanding learners from the year's programmes, to recognise the achievement and hard work put in by learners across the region.

The ceremony demonstrateed the high levels of commitment, enthusiasm and desire for skills of both learners and trainers alike. The event celebrateed life-long learning and the thirst people have to gain knowledge even after they have left school, showing true dedication to self development and learning in the work environment. Recognising achievers who have made outstanding effort in their area of study, the celebrations reward 11 learners with presentations in 6 categories; Food Manufacturing, Agriculture, Contact Centre, Retail & Customer Service, ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages), Business Administration, and IT.

Poultec Training is a key partner in providing skills and qualifications in the work environment. Working with many local companies and organisations Poultec delivers a wide range of learning opportunities and is very keen to support the Government's skills agenda. Neale McArdle, Poultec's Training Director said "I would like to congratulate all of these learners on their achievement and also recognise the professionalism of our training team in supporting this event."

An impressive line-up of speakers demonstrateed the importance in which the learning community holds this annual ceremony which will be held at the South Green Park Enterprise Centre, Mattishall. The line-up includeed Jeff Verguson, John Nixon for the Sector Skills Council for Food & Drink - Improve Ltd, Andy Hodgeson of the Norfolk Learning Partnership and Selwyn Prime of the Institute of Leadership & Management.

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April 2007

New Food Centre Puts UK Skills in Front

Food, fanfare and opportunity haled the opening of the £650,000 Norfolk Food Centre of Excellence and National Skills Academy for Meat & Poultry at Poultec Training, Mattishall, Norfolk. 150 delegates from across Norfolk, the region and the country attended a full day of presentations, food demonstrations and celebrations. Many local producers displayed a wonderful array of Norfolk's finest foods and drinks and Norfolk chef, Galton Blackiston, showed eager delegates how to cook and serve local lamb to perfection.

The centre offers support, training and opportunity for food and drink producers with facilities covering product development, on-demand production facilities, a healthy eating zone, butchery training and development suite and an advice and guidance centre.
Local school, Costessey High, demonstrated product development as part of a long term relationship the school and Poultec have built. Pupils showed interested delegates how to produce sausages, including using Blythburgh Free Range Pork, adding spices and mixes, selecting casings and using the sausage making machine.

The day confirmed Poultec's ability to deliver support for, and commitment to, the food industry. Terry Beales, Master Butcher, who demonstrated butchery skills on the day, explained that it is a real challenge to find good butchery training but with the resurgence of the local butchers shop and the growth of farm shops, butchery training is now needed more than ever.
Guest speakers praised the work of Poultec and the hard work the organisation had put in to achieve the two accolades of Norfolk Food Centre of Excellence and National Skills Academy Centre for meat & poultry yesterday. First up was co-founder and Managing Director, Edward Bales, who thanked, staff, support-organisations and industry partners for the successful partnerships which have made the food centre and academy in Norfolk a reality.

Nathan Raines, CoVE & Academy Manager, spoke of the principles on which the food centre has been built and which would drive the centre forward; namely to provide industry led training and development solutions, provide the amenities and skills relevant to industry and support industry in its development.
Paul Storey, Skills Development Manager for the Learning & Skills Council, East of England, the organisation which awards CoVE status, reminded delegates of the UK's on-going skills shortage. The CoVE will play a great part in addressing this by providing essential training, support, skills and development to the industry.

Galton Blackiston, Norfolk's celebrity chef from Morston Hall Restaurant and Hotel gave a passionate speech in favour of local food, low food miles and bringing back food education.
Derek Williams, Development Director of Improve, talked of the partnership with Poultec which has resulted in the Academy being established in Norfolk, a great accolade for both Norfolk as well as Poultec. Derek talked of the great commitment Poultec has shown to the industry, leading to the respect with which the industry holds Poultec. Derek talked of the high level of employer-engagement Poultec has achieved, this being demonstrated by the great numbers of employers attending the event. This is a strength Poultec has built on, developing effective working partnerships. Such key partnerships have been built with Banham Poultry, Grampian Country Foods, PD Hook, Kinnerton, MFD Foods and Watton Produce to name a few.
Last to speak was Jimmy Butler of Blythburgh Free Range Pork who told his story of developing a local food brand and the great importance of quality which is the basis of enjoying food and developing customer loyalty.

Colour, spectacle and glorious smells were brought to the event by a host of local food producers offering a wonderful array of Norfolk's finest. Succulent meats and poultry, fruit wines, ice cream, beers and ales, chocolate, cheese, desserts, fruit vinegars and onion bhajis all added to the feast. Norfolk is home to good farming and probably has more food producers than any other county in the region. Delegates and visitors browsed the stands during the day, sampling the delicacies offered by each business.

The buffet lunch was a feast of local produce from Norfolk and regional food producers. Many companies generously sponsored ingredients including Banham Poultry, MFD Foods, Cromer Crab Company, Mrs Temple's Cheese, with other ingredients being supplied by Silent Partners Catering, Norfolk Garden Preserves, Channell's Norfolk Chutney, Cley Smokehouse, Woodforde Farm Weston Longville Asparagus, Mill Bakery, Shouldham Thorpe salads, Norfolk Aberdeen Angus beef and Waveney Mushrooms.

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March 2007

NEWS RELEASE
1st March 2007

New national accolade for Poultec Training

Poultec Training in Mattishall has earned a national accolade as a centre of specialist learning for meat and poultry food manufacturing skills.

It has been selected as one of the first accredited Academy Training Centres within the new National Skills Academy for Food and Drink Manufacturing. The government's skills minister Phil Hope announced the go-ahead for the academy, which is set to open in April, and is forecast to deliver new skills to at least 28,000 people during its first four years.

It is only the fourth of a new network of sector-based National Skills Academies to be established, and is the culmination of more than two years of research, planning and development by leading employers, co-ordinated by Improve, the food and drink sector skills council.

The academy will be administered from Improve's head offices at York, while the majority of training programmes will be delivered through a network of approved Academy Training Centres, including Poultec Training. It is anticipated that there will be 35 such centres within three years. Initially there are five, each designated by its particular specialist area of expertise. The other four are Grimsby Institute of Further and Higher Education (fish processing); University of Lincoln Holbeach Campus (chilled ready meals); Reaseheath College in Nantwich (dairy); and Johnson Diversey in Northampton (food hygiene).

"This is a major new landmark in the training provision for food and drink manufacturers," said the chairman of Improve Paul Wilkinson, who is also chairman of two food manufacturers, Big Bear and Produce World. "The National Skills Academy has been driven by employers' needs, has been designed by employers, and will be run by employers."
Edward Bales, managing director of Poultec Training, said: “We are delighted to have been selected as one of the first Academy Training Centres. This status will enable us to continue to develop our Food Centre of Excellence and also our training provision to meet the needs of employers and individuals in the food sector."

A key benefit of the academy is that it will draw upon the best expertise available in order to develop new training programmes and learning units specifically to meet the needs of employers. Already there are ideas in the pipeline for about 40 new programmes and units which eventually will be accessed through the new academy.

The first wholly new programme to be offered nationwide as soon as the academy opens its doors is 'Production management - a lean approach'. It has been designed especially for the academy and will deliver learning units pitched at NVQ levels 2 and 3. Learners can select from job-specific units for bakery, meat and poultry, sea-fish processing, or general food manufacturing. More units for other specialist areas will be added later.

The programme can be followed in the form of a blended e-learning course, which is a combination of online study and classroom or work-based learning. The online parts of the programme will be available through the National Skills Academy web site, which will go live in March, and which will also provide an information base for learners and employers.

Web site features will include: diagnostic tools to identify the skills that individuals might require and the best training solutions available; a course-finder tool that works with a fully searchable database; on-line training courses; and access to training materials. The web site will also act as the communications and information centre for the academy’s administration.

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February 2007

POULTEC NAMED AS ONE OF TOP TRAINING PROVIDERS BY GOVERNMENT WATCHDOG

Mattishall based Poultec Training was today named as one of the top training providers in the country by the Adult Learning Inspectorate, the government body responsible for the quality of education and training for adults and young people. At the launch of his annual report for 2005-06 Chief Inspector, David Sherlock, named Poultec as being one of only 151 organisations to receive “good” or "outstanding" inspection grades for every aspect of its training.

David Sherlock said:
"I am delighted to be able to name Poultec as one of this year's outstanding providers. They have demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to achieving the very highest standards in the quality of training they offer. Learners can be confident that they will receive first-class support to reach their full potential. To be one of the top providers in the country is a tremendous achievement and a great credit to the team at Poultec."
Poultec has been delivering bespoke and nationally recognised qualifications for over 8 years, in the eastern region and across the UK. Training is geared to the needs of individuals and employers and provides skills and knowledge specific to sectors including Food Manufacturing, Retail, Customer Service, Call Centres, Agriculture, Business Administration, Leadership & Management and computing.
Neale McArdle, Poultec's Training Director summed up the feeling at Poultec. "We are absolutely delighted to have been named in the ALI Annual Report. This is a great achievement and testament to the commitment and professionalism of all of the Poultec team."
David Sherlock said:
"The ultimate aim of inspection is to improve quality standards and ensure young people and adults are getting the best possible education and training. This year we can celebrate a phenomenal improvement in the performance of the learning and skills sector. Learning provision for adults is better, more varied, more closely linked to achieving fulfilment in life and work and more inclusive of our people than ever before. That is the stuff of delight. It should give intense satisfaction to all who have contributed to its realisation, but most of all to the providers themselves."
Notes to Editor:

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January 2007

Pupils, Bacteria and Solutions!
This week, go-ahead Costessey High School, offered pupils the opportunity to be the first to use Norfolk's brand new Food Centre at South Green Park, Mattishall. The Food Centre is a Centre of Vocational Excellence (CoVE) for the food and drink industry and is one of only two in the whole of the Eastern Region.

through how bacteria is easily transferred, how it can contaminate food and what action should be taken to ensure food safety. The pupils on the course were from Costessey High School's Food Technology Programme for which Food Hygiene is an essential part.

The centre offers the technology to make learning not only fun but also to demonstrate how bacteria can be easily transferred from surface to surface, hands to hands and beyond to food itself. Pupils used scanning equipment which showed where bacteria were lurking and highlighted where and just how far the bacteria had travelled during the experiment, covering surfaces, hands equipment and more. Also food temperature testing was part of the programme emphasizing the importance of temperature control both at low temperatures and high temperatures. Pupils used heat probes to monitor foods checking them against hygiene regulations.

With 100% pass rate both pupils and Costessey High School were delighted with this initial joint programme. Andy Sivitter, Deputy Head said "We are always looking for alternative learning experiences for our pupils and are delighted that this programme has gone so well. It is vital that young peoples' experiences are enriched, the facilities at Mattishall offer just this opportunity, bringing out the best in everyone."
Pupils will all receive a certificate of achievement, the very same certificate which those in the workplace receive. Surely a wonderful boost to any young person’s C.V.

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