Chamber Member, Poppies Europe is constantly improving skills within the business thanks to training from St Helens Chamber Business School.
Robert Thorniley, Finance Director, said: “We are manufacturer of catering disposables and producing napkins is two thirds of our business. We have the ultimate aim to be a one stop shop for catering disposables and we manufacture the majority of the products ourselves.”
The company has a long history with St Helens Chamber and has made full use of the Chamber’s training offer.
Robert said: “Staff development is hugely important to Poppies Europe. To us the company is only as good as the staff who are running it. If the standard of the people who are running the company increases, it brings the company up as a whole.
“St Helens Chamber has been very helpful to us, especially with the training courses, which were something we initially wanted to offer the managers.
“We’ve recently experienced quite strong growth and we’ve always promoted from inside the company. So there was a bit of a gap to fill with regards to management skills and the Chamber has helped us do that and it’s been very successful.”
Poppies Europe has placed staff on a variety of courses to improve skills within the business and boost productivity and confidence in taking on new challenges.
Robert continued: “The managers have done a mixture of qualifications including a Diploma in management where they learned different management techniques and team leader situations.”
As a training provider St Helens Chamber understands that staff have other responsibilities such as carrying out their regular job role.
Robert said: “The training advisers have been very patient with us as there have been times during our busy periods where people on the courses haven’t quite met their deadlines, but they have been very supportive and understanding.”
Robert has seen a positive change in the way that things are done in the business following training from St Helens Chamber.
He said: “I’ve seen a real difference in the way the managers think about things. I would most definitely recommend St Helens Chamber as a training provider.”
To find out more about Poppies Europe http://www.poppieseurope.com/
For more information and to discuss your training needs, contact the Workforce Development Team on 01744 742333 or email workforce@sthelenschamber.com
