Case study: investing in training to drive up standards, quality and sales at George

by Jul 5, 2018Case studies

Logos-510×288-ASDA
Four years ago, clothing retailer George at Asda identified an issue with quality control checks in overseas factories that were costing the business time and money. To tackle the problem and improve the existing processes, they worked with City & Guilds on a training programme to ensure that high standards were achieved consistently by all their suppliers no matter where they were based.
George
Date 2017
Region East Midlands
Size 1,000+ employees
Sector Retail

training candidates worldwide

%

rejection rate drop

£ cost per candidate

courses currently offered

Problem: Sub-standard stock arriving from overseas

The quality of clothing received from some overseas suppliers including from China, India and Sri Lanka was initially only checked by George once it had reached the UK.  Products that didn’t meet George’s high standards had to be sent back to the supplier for reworking, costing the company time and money.

Solution: Training all quality inspectors

George developed an innovative training solution to end this rejection cycle by putting their own trained quality inspectors in the ports of supplier countries to assess stock before it left for the UK.

The training programme consisted of a 50:50 split between classroom delivery and on-the-job practice with a range of elements including coursework and questionnaires, a colour vision test, a small part cylinder test for choking hazards, and other practical assessments to mirror the working environment.

The change made a significant impact, with the rejection rate plummeting by 75% – a change that motivated George to consider how it could take this training even further.

Free training for suppliers to achieve a step-change

“The natural progression was to upstream the training into the factories,” said Quality Assessment Manager for George, Chris Clarke. “So we offered our training free to our suppliers’ Quality Control operators, which meant that the consistency of inspection was then driven through the factory, through the port in country, and through to the UK. So wherever it was inspected, it was done to the George standard and that drove our rejection rate down to less than half a per cent. That was a big win for us.”

More than 2,500 candidates worldwide have now been through the training, which covers quality assessment, safety and standards. Costing an average of £68 per candidate, providing training free of charge to the suppliers is a substantial investment for George, but Mr Clarke says the results make it worth it ten times over.

George 1
‘We offered our training free to our suppliers’ Quality Control operators, which meant that the consistency of inspection was then driven through the factory, through the port in country, and through to the UK.’

Chris Clarke, Quality Assessment Manager for George

‘Wherever our product was inspected, it was done to the George standard and that drove our rejection rate down to less than half a per cent. That was a big win for us.’

Chris Clarke, Quality Assessment Manager for George

Boosting individual careers and benefiting an entire industry

George is not the only beneficiary of the programme. Clarke says the training is an opportunity for the company’s partners to ensure they’re equipped to meet George’s needs and can also form a path to career progression for employees. “We’ve heard some great stories about how having completed the training, people’s careers have really taken off,” he said. “Some people do the training and then get a job offer in a factory that we don’t use, but we’re quite comfortable with that because it’s upskilling the industry and if we can help to improve the quality standard in the industry, it benefits us in the long run anyway.”

“Clarke also noted that the opportunity to participate in a City & Guilds-accredited Acceptable Quality Level (AQL) programme is enormously valued by participants, many of whom have found it has opened doors for their future careers. He said: ‘From joining at entry level, people come through the training and now some are managing the quality operation for whole factories. Many of them put that down to having had the right training at the right time and they take pride in having taken part in programme accredited by City & Guilds.’

Training continues to evolve to improve standards

The impact of the training has also been felt elsewhere in the business. George has always been committed to maintaining standards among its suppliers and offering training to new partners, and parts of the training programme are now embedded into the official induction process for all George head office staff within the organisation.

But the retailer doesn’t intend to stop there. Looking to the future, George intends to offer additional opportunities for employee development with the introduction of product-specific courses – for example, courses focused on the quality of footwear.

Speaking about the impact of the training programme, Mr Clarke said: “If you’ve got a problem to solve then a formal qualification can be a very good solution. For us, a City & Guild’s accreditation gave us credibility and to offer that for free – well you see the benefit back financially over and above what you put into it.”

Proud to have achieved the PRTA standard

Reflecting on being recognised for their investment in training, Mr Clarke said being awarded a PRTA was of real value to the business. “As a low cost retailer in this industry, you’re always fighting against the misconceptions around how our clothes get into store at the right price, at good quality and in the right way,” he said.

“People assume that we cut corners – they don’t see that we reinvest into the industry to bring up standards. So it’s really positive to be recognised for putting something back and to have done it well and made a difference. That’s what we’re really proud of.”

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

52 organisations receive royal recognition for tremendous training and incredible impact in 2024

15 August 2024: City & Guilds has today announced the 52 training programmes that will be recognised by the 2024 Princess Royal Training Awards. Now in its ninth year, The Princess Royal Training Awards continue to recognise organisations who demonstrate...
Read More

Skills Share 2024: a room full of training royalty

On 1 May 2024 we launched our first ever Skills Share event at Guildhall, London. This was a space to network and learn from the 200+ organisations who have successfully achieved a Princess Royal Training Award over the past nine years.

Read More

Case study: prioritising talent to open up opportunities to women at Amey

This leading infrastructure services and engineering company identified the Women@Amey network to attract and retain women in a male-dominated industry. Amey PlcYear awarded 2023Region LondonSize 1000+ employeesSector Construction and engineering“A great opportunity...
Read More

Case study: home-growing future managers through exceptional training opportunities at Red Carnation Hotels

This collection of family-run hotels achieved an Award in 2017 and went on to gain a revalidation in 2020. Since then it has further developed its Graduate Management programme with 53 participants commencing the training in the 3 years following, leading to the...
Read More

Case Study: using training to benefit people and the planet at Fifty Shades Greener

This small company which educates organisations on how to reduce their carbon footprint through changing their behaviours showcases its own commitment to learning through its tailored employee induction programme. Green Skills for Life is central to the training,...
Read More

Case study: the meaningful impact of receiving an Award on MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology)

In this video, Amy Atkins from 2022 recipient MOLA, talks about the meaningful impact of receiving a Princess Royal Training Award.

Read More

Celebrating the very best training and development programmes in the UK and Ireland

Last week, 53 recipients from the UK and Ireland were warmly welcomed to St James’s Palace, in London, to receive their Princess Royal Training Award from Her Royal Highness, The Princess Royal. Now in their eighth year, the Princess Royal Training Awards were set up...
Read More

Celebrating the impact of learning and development

At the heart of City & Guilds is our purpose which has skills development deep rooted in it. And through the Foundation one of our jobs is to celebrate where really great skills development is happening, and an example of how we do that is our Princess Royal Training Award programme.

Read More

Princess Royal Training Awards 2023 Recipients: in the press

Here is a roundup of the media coverage following the announcement of the 2023 Princess Royal Training Awards recipients. National news FE News:...
Read More

53 Princess Royal Training Awards across UK and Ireland for achieving positive impact through skills development

HRH The Princess Royal, President of the City and Guilds of London Institute, has approved 53 Awards to a range of organisations across the UK and Ireland, for their outstanding training and skills development programmes, all of which have shown a significant positive...
Read More

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This