British Glass hopes that its recently announced "Glass Academy" will help transform the way it recruits, develops and enhances the people involved in glass manufacture. "It is now vital that businesses begin to take the lead in helping the UK fight back and improve our global competitiveness," commented British Glass CE, Dave Dalton. "We must ensure we are doing everything possible to attract the best new talent and help our existing workforce to fully realise their potential. The Glass Academy has been created to ensure we can compete internationally with a workforce that is world class." Taking an earn-while-you-learn approach, the Academy will offer re-invigorated apprenticeships, continuous professional development and career progression opportunities to every employee. Using a blended learning approach, the modular-style training will be delivered by e-learning, in a classroom, and at work, depending upon the type of study undertaken. The Glass Academy is created and supported directly by the industry. It is supported by funding from the Employer Ownership of Skills Pilot fund, run by BIS, through the UK Commission or Employment and Skills in partnership with the Skills Funding Agency and the department for Education.
