The biggest woollen carpet manufacturer in the world has achieved huge benefits from working with ATITO.
Canterbury Spinners, Godfrey Hirst's Christchurch yarn mill, is gaining crucial advantages from ATITO training programmes. On the surface the programmes are simply upskilling Canterbury Spinners' people, but the outcomes for the company are fundamental.
Health, Safety and Training Co-ordinator Dave McBeth is excited about the personal and company transformations he is witnessing.
"One of the things that drives me is that training makes our people better. Morale is noticeably better, absenteeism has dropped and people are more prepared to do things," said Dave.
Like many firms in the apparel and textiles industry, a large proportion of Canterbury Spinners' workforce has only a limited education. Many start work with no formal qualifications at all.
For this reason, the LEAP programme, with funding support from ATITO and the Department of Labour, has had a transformational effect on the company. Developed internally, LEAP focuses on literacy, numeracy and communication. Learning how to get your message across and being better equipped to understand others are important workplace skills.
As Dave explained, "No one will do what they are asked to do if they haven't understood what they've been told."
With substantial ethnic diversity amongst the workforce, there can be significant communication challenges within the company, making good communication skills all the more important.
"Improved communication skills allow us to enjoy our ethnic diversity," said Dave.
Canterbury Spinners have also enjoyed skills enhancements from a range of other ATITO programmes including national certificates in first line management and textiles operations, health and safety representative training, and technical courses in carding and dyeing.
"We've seen a 25% reduction in injuries and significant improvements in quality and throughput," said Dave, attributing much of the change to skills training in conjunction with adjustments to workplace structure and procedures.
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