Astley on total staff development drive

Astley is using money from the European Social Funding Agency to help it develop every member of its 135 strong workforce.

Delivered by 3P Training, and in partnership with Gateshead College, the programme enables the employees, working as part of cross-functional teams, to gain a better understanding of Kaizen, visual management and 5S.  As well as the company-wide learning initiatives, leadership training has been undertaken by those in a supervisory role focusing on team leading principles and managing effective teams. Gavin Redhead, commercial director at Astley, said: “In a company like ours there are many departments and we really wanted staff to have a chance to learn more about disciplines outside of their own skillset. Every single employee will undertake the training programme and we believe it will put us in a strong position to grow. Our staff are key to this and we want them to feel valued and know that, no matter what stage of their career they’re at, there are opportunities at Astley to develop.” Astley designs, manufactures and installs signs for national brands. Eighteen months ago the Gateshead-headquartered business - which also has sites in Leeds and Glasgow - acquired Sign of the Times, based in Kettering, Northamptonshire to accelerate its expansion into new markets with digitally printed services.