| More and more companies are seeing education and training for their workforce as an investment, not as a luxury — and more and more companies are seeing SVQs as an integral part of their business development strategy. SVQs (Scottish Vocational Qualifications) give you a focused, on-the-job context for training and developing your staff. They are an excellent way of making sure that your staff development programmes and your business strategy go hand-in-hand. |
Analysis
SVQs are based on national standards of performance, developed by representatives from industry, commerce and education. Matching the skills and knowledge of your potential candidates against these nationally agreed industry standards gives you a good idea of where there might be room for improvement. This kind of skills and knowledge audit is a useful business exercise in its own right — following this up with an effective SVQ programme to develop the skills of your staff gives you a significant competitive edge.
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Performance
Once training and development are underway and people are working towards their SVQs, many employers begin to notice clear material benefits, including healthier bottom-line performance. One extensive study of SVQs in the food and drink manufacturing sector reported the *following improvements:
- Productivity up 20%
- Quality up 12%
- Wastage down 6%
- Complaints down 12%
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- Accidents down 56%
- Absenteesism down 20%
- Staff retention up 27%
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As these figures show, working to national standards of competence through an effective SVQ programme is the way forward for progressive companies.
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