Chris has recently been promoted into a new role as Customer Service manager, at Isles of Scilly Steamship Group, based in Penzance. Chris manages a small team which is about to grow.

Chris has a history degree and has worked in a number of customer service roles across his working life. He has lived in Cornwall for most of his life and joined Isles of Scilly Steamship Group in 2016. He was recruited as a travel Adviser and is now moving through the ranks. 

Chris is keen to learn and develop and when it was suggested that he undergoes the City and Guilds Leadership and Supervision package through the Skills Support for the Workforce (SSW) programme with Newquay for Excellence Training (NfET) he jumped at the chance. Chris enjoys learning and could see the benefits of signing up to the package to help him in his career progression and personal development. 

The Skills Support for the Workforce programme aims to up skill employees within small and medium sized enterprises (SME’s) to enhance career progression, knowledge and skills to improve confidence. NfET is part of Serco’s network of expert organisations chosen to deliver the SSW programme in partnership with Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP). SSW is co-financed by the European Social Fund and the Education and Skills Funding Agency. 

The package was a structured number of sessions with online examinations at the end which Chris passed with flying colours.

Chris is delighted to have been able to attend the package and it has developed his management style, Chris says “Doing the course has helped me get a new job as a manager, it showed that I was willing to invest in the learning. Since undertaking the package I have demonstrated the knowledge and skills needed to become an effective manager. The package has given me the confidence to know that some of my management styles are correct and has cemented my understanding of the theories behind certain approaches to supervision. I have used the PDP template, which was set as a homework assignment from one of the sessions and have now rolled this out to my team, put weekly reviews in place and am encouraging them to come up with their own formats and take ownership for these. The coaching of my team is an element that I have taken from the package and am practically using on a daily basis. I am now looking forward to continuing my learning with NfET.”

Dave Allan, Group Quality Manager at Isles of Scilly Steamship Group says “As a business we are fully committed to maintaining our ‘Investors in People’ certified status. Our focus is therefore on continually developing a structured group wide training ethos ensuring we deliver dependable customer service across the business group. We have found the ideal training partner in NfET Ltd to deliver programmes that are aligned with our own strategic objectives. NfET Ltd has been very supportive and extremely professional in delivering the workshops to a very high standard and the feedback from staff has been fantastic and we have seen a difference in staff that have attended courses, through gaining greater knowledge and skills. This can only be achieved by NfET employing the highest calibre of staff who dedicate themselves to teaching others. Claire has been instrumental in assuring that the process from initial sign up, through to course completion, has been uncomplicated and stress free.”

Dave Allan added “Also the team at NfET Ltd need to be congratulated for always being on hand to resolve any issues that may arise. Overall a very enjoyable experience and a partnership that will continue to be developed well into the future.” 

Claire Evans from NfET said “Working with the Isles of Scilly Steamship Group has been fantastic on the new Serco contract. The individuals and the group have embraced the training that we have been able to offer them, I have seen Chris not only grow as a manager but a person who has additional confidence in his new role and it is great to see that in a learner and he wishes to continue to develop himself and progress to the next training programme we can offer.”

NfET have been training people who work in the tourism, leisure, hospitality and aviation sectors for the past 21 years to the highest standard and are proud of the rapport and relationships they have not only with businesses across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly but with the individual team members within those organisations. 

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