How can I improve the efficiency of my workforce with Woodworking CPD?

When times are tough, you need staff that are working to the best of their ability, particularly if you have reduced your workforce numbers in recent years due to the downturn – every second counts in winning new work, getting the jobs through the factory and everything else you do as a business.

Having motivated and well skilled employees is a key way to boosting the efficiency of your business, whether they are in the accounts department, on the shop floor or even you as a senior manager.

At the start of October we launched a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programme that is aimed at all levels within joinery firms to help develop skills.

It provides a framework for you to develop your employees, but crucially, to make each employee take ownership of their own development. Getting each member of staff signed up on the programme will make them think about their skills set and how they need to develop to be more effective – of course, you, or their line managers can provide some help along the way.

Professional development doesn’t even mean doing qualifications or short courses/workshops, but of course, they certainly do play a part in developing each employee – it can be thing such as in-company training, briefings, tool box talks, or anything that employees do off their own back to develop themselves.

Perhaps your production manager of joinery foreman is reading BWF resources about implementing factory production control (FPC) into your workshop in preparations for CE marking, or your accounts personnel are getting up-to-date with the next batch of tax changes that will affect your payroll or the sale of your products. Senior management may be putting together a business plan that incorporates a new product sector strategy or your recently qualified apprentice is doing a course on CAD/CAM for your new CNC machine.

The CPD programme is flexible to it meets the needs of the varying nature of the joinery industry. Whether you’re a micro business or a large corporate, it is works to provide a means for all your employees to manage their own development.

We’ve made registering on the programme FREE, so its simply a case of registering each of your staff and downloading a log sheet and away you go.

To register, or for more information, visit the CPD webpages at www.bwf.org.uk/CPD.