Two new courses have been added to the range of topics covered on the Go Forth Stirling training platform.
The platform, which has proved popular with Stirling’s business community during the pandemic, is giving workforces the chance to learn about safeguarding children and hazardous substances during July.
The new courses – Introduction to Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) and Safeguarding Children – are available for registration now and more details can be found on the website – www.goforthstirling.co.uk/online-training
Almost 400 people have signed up to access courses on the free online training platform set up by Go Forth Stirling, which runs the city’s Business Improvement District (BID), since it launched in April. The programme, which runs until the end of September, has been praised by Stirling’s business owners.
Julie Lonsdale, Office Manager at Stirling City Heritage Trust, completed the Fire Safety course. She said: “I found the Fire Safety (HS) 500 course easy to navigate and work my way through. It is well set out and takes the user through the course using different methods of study in easy bitesize chunks. I found this course to be an excellent resource in ensuring that we, as an employer, adhere to all necessary legislation“
Stacey Mackrell, of Beau Boutique Beauty Salon, said “The Go Forth online training platform has been a godsend to me and my business during the COVID-19 pandemic – not only has it kept me occupied, it has helped me gain new skills. Go Forth has been a huge help to my business time and time again and they really have outdone themselves during this scary time for small businesses like mine.”
The courses – which are available via the Go Forth website and provided by training partner Navitas Academy – have so far covered Coronavirus Awareness, Mental Health Awareness, Allergen Awareness, Fire Safety, HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) and Bullying and Harassment.
Participants can now sign up for the two July courses by emailing admin@goforthstirling.co.uk to register.
The COSHH course looks at the key requirements of legislation put in place to protect staff from harm caused by substances whilst at work. It covers areas where people may come into contact with substances plus the actions both workers and employers must take to keep people safe.
The course, delivered by an Environmental Health Officer, contains six training pods and is suitable for anyone who may come into contact with hazardous substances within the workplace.
The Safeguarding Children programme guide participants through the basic principles everyone should follow to help safeguard children and includes actions to take should you have concerns about an individual.
The short course consists of seven pods and includes What is Meant by Safeguarding; Responding to a Child’s Disclosure of Abuse; Making Policy and Safeguarding Issues. It is aimed at anyone who works with, or comes into contact, with children.
The team at Go Forth Stirling are delighted with the uptake of their online courses so far. There were 158 registrations for the June courses and a total of 397 people have taken part in the training programme since the platform was launched.
Go Forth’s Project Director Danielle McRorie-Smith said: “The training platform has proved an important initiative which has been popular with our business community. We’re really pleased to see the numbers of people completing the courses going up each month and we’re getting some good feedback about how valuable business owners are finding them.”
The online training initiative is funded in association with the Covid-19 BIDs Resilience Fund which was announced by Communities Secretary Aileen Campbell in March. The £1 million funding package aims to help Scotland’s 37 active BIDs play a vital role in supporting local businesses and town centres during the crisis.
The Go Forth courses are free to all businesses in Stirling – not just levy payers or those in the BID zone.
And once a business owner has set up their login details on the Go Forth portal, they are automatically enrolled for the whole programme and will be able to access each new course as soon as it is released on the 1st of each month.
