In the recruitment sector, the Christmas season generally spells one thing: a huge spike in demand for manual workers. The increased need for picking and packing support is rife amongst the retail sector at this time of year, especially with such a high proportion of seasonal shopping now being done online.
Something else that is rife is the competition between personnel providers. Why should an employer choose one recruitment agency over another?
If you are a recruitment consultant looking to gain the competitive edge this Christmas, why not consider sending your own staff on a course to gain a qualification in manual handling training?
With your own in-house manual handling trainers, you are fully equipped to provide a ready-trained picking and packing workforce, releasing the burden from your potential employer clients.
The Importance of Manual Handling Training
According to the Labour Force Survey, an estimated 909,000 working days were lost to handling injuries between 2013 and 2014, with some of the main work activities causing or making back disorders worse cited as lifting, carrying, pushing and pulling: all classic actions that make up the picking and packing role.
Employers know well their duties under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at work Regulations 1999 to assess and control all risks to the health and safety of their employees. However, there is always the issue of spending time and money on providing training to temporary workers who may not stick around.
So, if those temporary workers came to them ready equipped with the skills and competence required to safely undertake manual tasks, this would of course become a very attractive selling point for any recruitment agency.
A 2-Day Course that Could Give you the Competitive Edge
The City & Guilds manual handling train the trainer qualification is a practical course run over two days that provides potential trainers with all they need to provide their own manual handling training courses. The course culminates in a nationally recognised certificate and provides everything required to design, develop and deliver effective training.
For further information or to book a course email info@abromhead.co.uk or call 07932 674707.