Craft Bakers Association launches mental health and leadership training

The Craft Bakers Association (CBA) has launched two discounted online training courses for its members.

Run by CPL Learning, one of the courses covers shift leadership, and the other focuses on supporting mental health in the workplace. The CBA said the training programme, available at a reduced rate via its website, is easy to access and use, and enables members to coordinate training for themselves and their employees.

CBA chief executive Karen Dear explained it is important that bakery teams have the skills and information needed to run a business efficiently.

“Whether it’s HR, health and food safety legislation, legal or financial, we know training can be expensive and time consuming to plan,” she said. “This is why one of the key benefits of CBA membership is being able to access discounts on a wide range of business-critical online and in-house training courses.”

The two courses are:

• Leading Great Shifts: Designed to provide the knowledge and understanding of how to run a successful shift in a bakery, this course explains the importance of effective shift leadership, while exploring how to implement this into a business. The CBA said the course is suitable for all levels and would benefit any bakery team members who lead shifts as part of their role.
• Mental Health Support Champion: This course is designed to promote good mental health and wellbeing in the workplace. The CBA said that, on completion of the course, learners will be able to identify and support bakery team members who may be experiencing mental ill health, such as anxiety and stress. Learners will be able to provide early intervention and signpost the sources of support their colleagues can benefit from. The CBA added that, by understanding mental health and wellbeing, lead bakers can also develop stronger relationships with their employees, as well as improve employee retention levels, morale and productivity. The course is suitable for bakery employees of all levels.

The CBA represents approximately 500 bakery businesses in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.