Bakery sees profits rise after investing in upskilling

SHEFFIELD food manufacturer Brook Bakery has cooked up some tasty results with profits on the up after upskilling staff.

The firm, led by the brother-and-sister team John Emes and Sue Gravill, now employs 52 people at Wincobank and in recent years moved into a 22,000 sq ft bakery.

Brook provides a wholesale bread and confectionary division along with its retail activities.

The firm turned to Skills Made Easy to come up with a development programme, and ultimately upskilling staff with help from the funding Skills Made Easy.

Since then the firm has opened another site in Woodhouse.

Sue Gravill, director, Brook Bakery said: “As the business has grown, we recognised many of the systems and processes we relied upon for years were no longer fit for purpose. We approached Skills Made Easy to see if they could offer any guidance in helping to improve the way in which our business operates as we realised that this was impacting upon the performance of the company.

“During the process, Skills Made Easy helped us to secure funding for training which has not only helped members of staff across the business work towards completing NVQ qualifications, but it’s also helped us to forge stronger links between the different departments, rather than working in isolation which used to be the norm.

“Since completing the programme, we’ve seen significant reductions in waste and increased productivity as a direct result of better communication. This has meant we’ve been able to invest in future business growth”

Laura Hayfield, programme manager at Skills Made Easy said: “The work we have undertaken with Brook Bakery illustrates how the Skills Made Easy programme can help to make a positive difference to businesses in the Sheffield City Region, not only through helping companies to improve efficiency, but in this case, it was more about forging stronger links between the different divisions within the business.

“Skills Made Easy’s workforce development programmes are designed to help companies based in Sheffield City Region to flourish. We recognise that every business faces unique challenges.”