A former Recycling Lives waste handling and recycling site in Leyland, Lancashire, has been transformed into a new training academy using desk-based tuition, remote learning, hands-on demonstrations and virtual reality to induct new employees, upskill and develop existing staff and support offender rehabilitation.
The Recycling Lives Terry Jackson Academy – named after one of the business founders – officially opens in March and is the first Academy of its kind set up and run by a recycling company.
Staff training will include management development, induction, specific vocational and life-skill based courses, and sustainability modules designed to empower attendees to address climate change both in the workplace and at home. Internal core programmes will offer development opportunities for senior leadership and managers, employees and ‘Rising Stars’ identified as potential future leaders.
It will also induct and upskill ex-offenders working with the business as part of the long-standing engagement with the justice system that is central to the company’s commitment to delivering social value, alongside its work with the Recycling Lives Charity.
The new centre incorporates facilities for training employees in the use of cranes, weighbridges and other equipment located at the site. Specialised equipment is employed to demonstrate the innovative depollution process for end-of-life petrol, diesel and electric vehicles.
Virtual reality and AV resources are used to show the various processes and operations employed by the company. The training centre incorporates facilities for remote online training of staff at Recycling Lives’ 18 facilities across the UK. It will also be used by internal candidates accepted onto the metal recycling apprenticeship for the ‘off job’ development part of the qualification.
The transformation of the former Golden Hill recycling site on Braconash Road has included remodelling the interiors of the existing warehouse, storage, and office facilities for the site’s new role. Golden Hill was the original location of Recycling Lives, and the new training academy is named after Terry Jackson who owned the site and developed the business.
Inductions of staff and training and development activities begin in March, and activities will expand to offer opportunities to local communities, and collaboration with schools and colleges.
Recycling Lives’ Head of Human Resources Angeline Betts-Derbyshire says that the availability of dedicated facilities in Leyland takes training and professional development within the company to a new level. She explains:
“Expansion of the company has highlighted the need for comprehensive uplift of training, offering the opportunity to develop our existing staff and enable them to progress their careers within the business. It will also assist the work we undertake through our Academy workshops within prisons and ROTL (Release on Temporary Licence) employment schemes, providing dedicated facilities for induction and training.
The new centre enables us to take training out of the active operational sites where appropriate, and blend classroom-based activity with more practical hands-on experience. Our new online capability provides facilities for delivering high-quality induction and training for members of our 500-strong workforce wherever they are located in the UK.”
Recycling Lives’ CEO Gerry Marshall commented:
“As the business continues to grow with new investment in resources, it is more important than ever that we also invest in the people we employ and those who are joining our company, to create a skilled and sustainable workforce that can share our success.
We are passionate about helping to raise the skill levels across schools and colleges, and within the justice system & disadvantaged groups to help them find meaningful sustainable employment, which in turn provides positive social-economic impact.
This is about Recycling Lives’ commitment to the future of its people and the planet. It is about growing our people and talent within the industry not just for today, but for the future, and encouraging recruitment into our recycling sector to demonstrate that it is a viable and aspirational career.”
For more information see www.recyclinglives.com
