Skills Support for the Workforce (SSW) is a programme developed to upskill employees within small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Dorset. They provide recognised accredited qualifications and bespoke training courses to enhance your employees’ skills, increase the competitiveness of your business and boost the local economy. HIT Training is part of Serco’s network of expert organisations chosen to deliver the SSW programme in partnership with Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP). SSW is co-financed by the European Social Fund and the Education and Skills Funding Agency. 

Magda Sujka is from Poland. She has come over to the UK to improve her English skills and to progress in the hospitality industry. 

As English is not her first language she would struggle with a big qualification, so HIT Training were able to offer her the chance to do functional skills at E3 to bring both her written and spoken communication skills to a higher level and to also increase her confidence with customers. HIT Training also offered her NVQ units to help her develop her skills in restaurant alongside this.  They worked with Magda on her English and at the same time developed her skills and knowledge in the restaurant.

Magda achieved her English FS at E3 and also achieved all her units. She now has full support and the opportunity to progress onto a full apprenticeship framework for Food and Beverage Service which will also increase her English skills to Level 1 

Magda felt the programme to be well organised, fitted in with her commitments and that she had clear targets and understood what was expected. She felt especially pleased that her communication skills in English improved which in turn has improved confidence with her customers. She is very keen now to improve her English even further.  Her trainer felt she was a pleasure to work with, she completed all her work in a timely fashion and really engaged with the learning. 

Lindsey Bish, (General Manager)  “I heard about HIT via a representative visiting in order to explain the programme. Training at the Grand Hotel is Paramount and I felt that this delivery was excellent and one we wanted to embrace. Magda was a very shy person prior to embracing the course, however has become more confident in how she now meets our guests expectations – a remarkable improvement.

We now have Damien on the programme who has huge potential and just needed some way of having this endorsed. Through this programme he has been able to realise this."

To find out about accessing fully funded training for employees through the Skills Support for the Workforce programme businesses can contact us.