November 10, 2015 Industry news
At GS1 UK, we aim to make a difference and work with our members to develop and align our standards with the continuously changing business and regulatory landscape.
As the landscape adapts to changing technology and globalisation, we evolve our standards too, so that we can support the needs of our members as they develop and grow – both locally and internationally.
We recognise that there is a growing demand from our members, regardless of size or role, for our staff to continuously evolve their capabilities and expertise in order to deliver best in class support. As they see GS1 UK as vital to their success, we believe that investing in our employees’ skill set is very important to continue enhancing our offering to better serve their needs.
To that effect, we have introduced a new professional qualification, the GS1/CILT Foundation Award in Supply Chain Management, to equip our employees with the appropriate skills and expertise they need to better service our members. This is in cooperation with the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (“CILT”), the leading professional body for everyone who works in supply chain, logistics and transport.
The new qualification is a tailored programme for GS1 UK employees, and includes in-class sessions on how to efficiently link supply chain operations and processes to GS1 standards. Upon completion of the classroom element, there is a 6,000 word assignment for each GS1 UK employee to complete, which is then independently reviewed and evaluated by the CILT. At the final stage, each GS1 UK staff member needs to present this to the directors of GS1 UK and CILT, to qualify for the accreditation. To date, 18 members of staff have successfully completed the course of the 22 that passed through it.
This new CILT qualification provides our staff with a better and deeper understanding of our members’ needs and helps them identify what is best practice of GS1 standards, while bringing the best value we can to their business. We aim to provide our members with excellent, committed and passionate staff whose main focus is our members’ success. At the same time, our dedicated employees can advance their career and enhance their professional standing.
Participating in this new initiative, reinforces our commitment to our employees’ professional development and excellence. By applying high academic rigour and independent external reviews, we aim to achieve the highest service standard in order to meet our members’ needs and offer them best value.”
Gary Lynch, CEO at GS1 UK
In the near future, we aim to roll out the qualification programme on a bigger scale and encourage more of our employees to undertake the course.