BWG Foods has announced that it is set to move its employee professional development initiative, BWG Academy, to an online training and education resource.
The BWG Academy, which was officially launched in 2019 just before the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, was designed to provide a wide range of self-development and support programmes for the over 23,000 retail employees across Spar, Eurospar, Londis, Mace and XL store networks.
Within weeks of the official launch, Ireland slid rapidly into anti-virus restrictions and, as it became ever clearer that uncertainty surrounding the longevity of social distancing measures and that even more stringent restrictions were likely, the need to transform BWG Foods’ educational programme was embraced, the retail group said.
Remote Programmes
In conjunction with Retail Ireland Skillnet, BWG Foods said it developed a solution and training quickly pivoted to a sophisticated eLearning platform, which facilitates remote-based self-development programmes.
From March 2020 to date, 1,272 BWG retailers, and their staff, have received industry-recognised qualifications from a series of courses and workshops run by the BWG Academy, it added.
“Our retailers take their role as providers of an essential service to their communities very seriously and have continued to upskill throughout the COVID-19 pandemic by embracing our online curriculum," Peter Donohoe, chief people officer, BWG said.
"One of the advantages throughout this time is that they can complete their training in their own time and according to their own schedules, which are busier than ever due to the operating environment," he added.
According to the group, the BWG Academy will continue to operate courses and workshops on an online basis until such time as restrictions allow for a return to more recognisable blend of online and in-person learning at the Academy’s dedicated, Dublin-based, training and education center.
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