Contract catering company Wilson Jones boosts its business by 15%

The company's success comes just as the Government announces their commitment to focus public investment on an SME focused training programme that will replace the 'Train to Gain' scheme following the Comprehensive Spending Review. In the past three years, Lewisham College has provided on-site training for 10 apprentices at Wilson Jones' Twickenham premises and trained more than 40 other employees on a variety of catering and business NVQ courses. In total, the company employs 120 full-time staff. The contract caterer, which supplies catering to 26 schools across London, celebrated its partnership with Lewisham College this week by hosting an event attended by representatives from the Association of Colleges (AoC). Managing director Stephanie Spratt commented: "We have benefitted hugely from training our staff through Lewisham College. By building up our team's core skills we are delivering on our ethos to create innovative, healthy menus which really appeal to children and this has helped us to develop and boost our business despite the recent difficult economic conditions." "We were really impressed by the high standards of the teaching and resources provided, and the way in which the College was able to deliver a training programme on-site which was so business-friendly. We are delighted to host this event here today so that the wider business community will be able to see just what can be achieved." Maxine Room, principal of Lewisham College, added: "We are seeing businesses of all types and sizes benefitting from taking a forward-thinking approach to training, through increased sales, winning new contracts, reducing customer complaints and increasing staff motivation, productivity and retention."