Duncan Henderson began his horticultural career as an apprentice with Bristol City Council and rose to become Operations Manager and a training pioneer with Kirklees Council in Yorkshire.
He is dedicated to securing the best and most comprehensive training for the Parks and Open Spaces workforce of the Culture and Leisure Department. This has already involved dozens of staff taking courses through the Train to Gain and Women and Work initiatives. Even more staff will be involved in training in 2009, when the council will also take on six new horticultural apprentices.
The benefits for workers, the council and the people of Kirklees are many, Duncan says. The authority is investing in its people and the environment, moving from maintenance of parks and open spaces to providing a professional service. Workers gain recognition for their skills, qualifications, pride in their work - and potentially promotion. All this comes full circle, with feedback from training helping the council to improve and develop ways of working and plans for the future.
And it all started with a discussion at the Four Oakes Horticultural Show between Duncan Henderson and representatives of the Sector Skills Council Lantra…
“I just want my staff trained. Already 40 out of 70 staff who have been appraised have taken up Train to Gain courses and 12 women have taking training through Women and Work.
Kirklees is the best council in the country in 2008 and according to the Local Government Association we are a four star authority. We’re in the centre of West Yorkshire serving a diverse community from urban to rural areas.
We have basically a classic parks department with a low turnover of staff and some of the best wages in the country. We are about 150 strong with an average age of 47. last 10 to 15 years the amenity horticultural profession has been contracted out as grounds maintenance, so it was about cutting grass, clearing weeds and picking up litter, and not about providing attractive environments where people enjoy the seasons.
The workforce have, it has to be said, been jaded, uninspired and unappreciated. Some have been here since before the reorganisation in 1974. But everything has changed and we are working towards best value and driving towards delivering services, and continuously improved services. Training was a cause for concern so it was fortuitous that Lantra was at the Four Oakes Show promoting Train to Gain, which was the start of where we are today.
After the show a meeting was set up between the Council and Ange Brockett, the Train to Gain Broker Manager from Lantra, and then we identified our training partner Bishop Burton College in Beverley.
Arrangements were made to appraise staff as part of a training audit in preparation for a training plan, which is now in place. There have already been many additional benefits in arranging training, such as developing a long term working relationship with Bishop Burton and giving us access to a network of contacts working around training and public service delivery.
Other training needs have also been identified and this facilitated a refresher training plan for all staff. The first event raised issues that led to considerable work on health and safety procedures, codes of conduct and safe working practices.
We are now looking for all staff to be appraised and to seek an individual learning plan. This will progress through the internal PRD - Performance Review and Development Process - which will be completed with an assessment undertaken by Bishop Burton.
We have also welcomed the opportunities provided by Lantra’s Women and Work scheme. The horticultural profession has a ratio of one female to 20 males and 12 of our staff - six office staff, six from the horticultural side - have taken up development training, which has been very well received.
They had the opportunity to step away from their duties, evaluate their role and take on leadership opportunities.
Our Administrative Assistant Andrea Senior worked solely on sustaining a database and handling customer enquiries. The Women and Work training has improved her confidence and empowered communications, giving her the encouragement to fulfil a broader range of duties and seek further opportunities. Andrea has been promoted and is now supporting many additional activities with a more direct involvement in the work of the department, ensuring that improvements are making a real difference on the ground.
Andrea works for me and she is definitely more confident - now she can tell you all about our transport management, cemeteries, verge maintenance and we have a much better information systems in the office. She has realised what she really can do.
We have found out a great deal by talking to our people and networking with others so we can gain from their experience. Train to Gain has been a catalyst. By offering NVQ Level 2 and 3 in amenity horticulture people have been trained but they have also become more communicative, they have raised issues. Plus there is a lot more interest in a pay evaluation because people need to be able to prove their competence.
With Train to Gain the future holds many opportunities for us, not least training our staff as trainers and development of NVQ assessors.
Training is opening doors. It is helping us develop systems and procedures, consistency of service, a greater sense of belonging and professionalism.
Our people wear their uniform and ID card and have pride in what they wear, they have an identity and they are working towards quality for the people of Kirklees. Everybody is developing their skills and qualifications and proving their worth.
One of the biggest benefits of the association with Train to Gain was that they gave us three potential training providers and we selected Bishop Burton College. We wanted a long term relationship to develop bespoke training to meet the needs of Kirklees Council in 2009 and onwards enabling continuous evaluation and improvement.
Ange our training broker has also helped enormously. She has made a lot of things happen that wouldn’t have happened. When we run a course we have feedback forms. The courses get people talking to each other and has enabled us to improve many systems and procedures. This also shows that training is important to us and that we are investing in the courses and our people.
We want a workforce with a lot more pride, and gardens and open spaces with more colour and interesting plants prepared by gardeners with skills to look after them.
We have staff who want to stay with us and we want to bring on new staff. We are taking on six apprentices and we don’t mind what age they are - we just want energy. We also held a number of recruitment meetings and looking forward to taking on more apprentices than originally planned in the near future.