Education and Training The training provision offered by the BFPA has for many years continued to grow in importance as more and more companies realise the value and necessity of well-trained employees. The development of a sound well-functioning workforce that is skilled in their job roles and above all safe in the working practices they adopt are of the greatest benefit to a company in a highly competitive industry. 2023 saw a major increase in the level of BFPA certified courses delivered by both the association directly and its 25 approved training providers. This positive attitude on behalf of companies towards the upskilling of their workforce demonstrates a strong commitment to safe working practices which can only benefit the reputation of the fluid power industry. To reflect the move towards treating participants as individuals as well as company employees the BFPA has rebranded its training section to capture this sentiment. Thus, we now have a Learning and Development Programme that houses both the associations wellestablished flexible hose training courses and the growing fluid power systems vocational courses and qualifications. The aim is to encourage the individual to learn and positively develop what they can offer in their working life. The link to company success and skilled employees is clearly demonstrated through the BFPA’s Hose Accreditation Scheme where trained technicians are an integral part of the scheme’s strength. Continuous learning and developing through different types of courses threads its way through the association’s policies and reinforces the value placed on this important aspect. This aspect is further cemented by the increase in returning customers throughout last year as companies have included the BFPA training courses as part of their own learning plans for new employees and the reinforcement of skills through refresher courses for existing employees. The growth and expansion of the BFPA’s Learning and Development Programme is an exciting part of the association’s provision and with the incorporation of a new CRM and LMS to streamline the administrative operations behind the Programme in the first half of 2024 we hope to attract an even wider audience to the benefits of our different training courses and qualifications. 16,000 trainees to date – The BFPA’s Learning and Development Programme continues to grow 24 www.bfpa.co.uk BRITISH FLUID POWER ASSOCIATION BFPA LEVEL 1 HYDRAULICS LEARNING &DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME By Martin Kingsbury, Membership and Training Director, the BFPA. BFPA flexible hose training courses – Onsite and online Short one- or two-day training courses are an invaluable way of improving the skills of employees without major disruption to the working life of a company. The BFPA offers the choice of dedicated onsite training for groups of employees to learn from a range of courses with the equipment and materials they work with every day, or if more practical, individuals can attend one of our monthly Hose Assembly Skills Open Courses at an approved training venue to spread the number of employees off shift at any one time. To increase learning opportunities the BFPA also offers several of our flexible hose training courses online as a compressed theoretical version of the original face to face courses. The online courses remain interactive, delivered by a trainer speaking directly to delegates, asking questions, and answering individual queries as they arise. This successful format can be accessed on an individual basis through our monthly open course programme or dedicated group sessions can be arranged.
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