Spirit Group - Certificate in Management Licensed Trade

Spirit is the UK’s largest independent licensed retailer with 2,500 outlets employing 46,500 people across the country operating under the Chef & Brewer, Wacky Warehouse, Barras, Premier Lodge, Bar Room Bar and Millers names.

The Challenge

The requirement from the Director of Organisational Development was for Inspirations to design and deliver a Certificate in Management Programme for the licensed trade. The programme needed to be practical in nature, to engage the managers. It also needed to be inspiring and motivating so that the participants were keen to complete the projects and assignments between workshops.

The Solution

Inspirations designed a modular programme with its own brand, to which Junior Managers from Head Office and Operations could aspire. The internal team selected the name “Horizons” for the programme. A logo was designed and all workbooks, course notes and even a briefcase were branded. “Horizons” is now commonly referred to and is part of the language in Spirit, forming a key stepping-stone in the career Pathway.

To select participants for the programme, an assessment centre was designed. Those participants who were unsuccessful were given one to one feedback and a development plan agreed with them. The successful participants attended a highly participative launch event along with their Line Managers.

The programme consists of eight two-day workshops, run at bi-monthly intervals. Alongside the workshops, the participants work in Learning Sets, carry out projects and business assignments back in the business, and undertake distance learning through both e-learning and tailored workbooks. The participants are required to complete four learning journals and a final project to fulfil the requirements of OCR, the awarding body.

The Benifits

The success of the first programme has been felt throughout the organisation and, as a result, “Horizons 2” has been rolled out over the business.