Skills Support for the Workforce
The Hillbrush Company has been manufacturing a wide range of cleaning equipment since 1922, and in 2017 the company opened ‘Visit Hillbrush,’ a unique visitor centre with a brush making museum, shop and restaurant serving locally sourced dishes.
Rhiana, who works in the company's marketing department, undertook funded training through the Skills Support for the Workforce programme to bridge an identified skills gap and support Rihana in her role.
Rhiana is responsible for the Visit Hillbrush’s social media and her role consists of photographing and videoing the products, and working with the Graphic Designer to create graphics for upcoming events, campaigns and internal activities. Rhiana had been working at the company for 3 months and was finding it difficult to connect with other businesses on social media and making sure the comapny's online prescence was authentic and interesting. Rhiana explains:
"I didn’t have much prior experience to using social media in this way. The training was necessary because in the future it is the plan for me to be able to lead our social media in a stronger way, knowing what works best for each platform and also how we can make it the best it can be for engaging our audience."
Rhiana’s manager found out about the training on offer through 'Visit Wiltshire' and put Rhiana forward for the course.
The training was carried out by Skills Ladder, one of Serco’s expert training providers chosen to deliver the Skills Support for the Workforce programme. As the SSW programme is co-financed by the European Social Fund and the Education and Skills Funding Agency, Rhiana could access the training at cost to herself or the business.
Rhiana completed the IT User Level 2 course in which she learned about the tools and techniques which can be used to produce videos for social media. Rhiana enjoyed the training:
“The course was enlightening, I really enjoyed how interactive it was and with a range of ages, capabilities and experience we all had something unique to offer, so I never felt out of place. It was definitely worth the trip and I would be happy to attend courses similar in the future.”
Rhiana’s trainer Dan Heaford was pleased with what Rhiana achieved:
“Rhiana was excellent on the course. She contributed very well and made some valid points. All her work was done on time and to a high level. I think she will do very well with the skills she has learnt.”
Since completing the course, Rhiana has presented to the rest of the marketing team about how they can improve their presence online and has incorporated ideas she has taken from the course.
Rhiana is now developing a marketing strategy with scheduled posts and varied content in order to bring some personality and authenticity to the posts and engage with their audience.
Please note the training took place pre-COVID.
