A FOOD industry firm based in Skipton which trains hundreds of people a year on specialist courses has been given an award for ‘management excellence.’

Verner Wheelock, of Broughton Hall Business Park, has been assessed as having excellent management systems in place and has been given the industry accreditation ‘ISO 9001:2015’ by the International Organization for Standardization,.

The standard is “a collection of management principles designed to ensure that an organization’s quality management systems meet the needs of customers, staff and other key stakeholders” and is one of the most widely adopted management standards in the world, used globally in over one million organizations.

The company, which was founded in 1990, runs courses in food safety, auditing and hazard analysis at all levels.

Managing director Alison Wheelock said: “We have experienced a dramatic growth in the number of both open and in-house courses in recent years and consequently in the number of people trained. Achieving ISO 9001 seemed like a logical next step.

“We wanted to make sure that, even at maximum capacity, we were still able to guarantee the high standard of service and professionalism that our customers have come to expect.

“With increased numbers of delegates, courses and trainers, the systems introduced have helped us to have greater consistency in course materials. It’s also proving beneficial for efficiency in course material updates and document control, acting on feedback and formalising systems.”

Mitch Morrison, the company’s administration controller was responsible for managing the project over a 12-month period. He added: “We’ve always had an attention to detail and a commitment to providing excellent customer service.

“Working towards ISO 9001 has helped us to streamline processes and formalise our current practices. As anyone who’s embarked on this journey will know, it’s a long and intensive one, but being approved...has definitely been worthwhile in the end.”

As well as providing training, Verner Wheelock also performs ethical audits.

A number of major retailers are now making it their responsibility to ensure that ethical trading is an integral part of their business. Their aim is to work with suppliers to uphold labour standards in the supply chain.

An ethical audit looks at factors such as wages working hours, health and safety, temporary workers, the right to work, as well as fair treatment of staff.