Lauren's Patisseries, which has a UK workforce of nearly 2,000 staff, has as many as 20 different languages spoken on site.
The Academy will be open 24/7, providing opportunities for employees working any shift to receive tuition that will benefit them both professionally and in their day-to-day lives. Tutored lessons in listening, speaking, reading, writing and numeracy are offered during work time and open to both native and non-native speakers.
The concept of the Learning Academy was trialled earlier this year when 108 employees enrolled on a range of language and key skills courses, with 85 subsequently undertaking exams.
Lauren's has invested in the academy to foster an environment where innovation and change is encouraged, and has worked closely with Eucanlearn, specialising in ethical and innovative workforce solutions to the food manufacturing sector. Back-up, a local training provider, also supports the Academy by providing technology, dedicated skilled tutors and the delivery of a key skills programme.
The facility comprises three learning areas, including a dedicated tuition room for language learning and key skills development; a self study and open learning room designed to support both work related and personal learning; and a third space that will be utilised for larger workshops and development centres in future.
Caron Brooks, head of HR at Lauren's Patisseries, said: "We're committed to encouraging our employees to become more involved in the business and to do the best job they can by ensuring that they are trained as effectively as possible. The benefits of the Academy are already coming through with employees reporting that they feel more confident following training and managers seeing improvement in communication and increased staff enthusiasm.
"We expect up to 120 employees to enrol in training and development from September 2011 onwards and over the longer-term we plan to develop a wider range of learning opportunities working in partnership with our local training and education providers. "
