When employees are given the tools to grow their skill sets and become experts in their industries, not only do they benefit — their organization benefits, as well.

Conviron, a global leader in the design, manufacture and installation of controlled environment systems, was looking for a way to further train employees. Not surprisingly, they turned to Red River College’s (RRC) Corporate Solutions department to develop a customized training program.

Conviron was in need of a training curriculum for onboarding new or transfer employees into the refrigeration section of their manufacturing department.

Corporate Solutions developed a comprehensive training workshop where existing employees could be trained on new programs and new employees could get up to speed on the practices within Conviron’s refrigeration department. Employees received hands-on training in areas such as tools and equipment, refrigerants and oils, leak testing, evacuation and charging.

“We approached Corporate Solutions because we were looking for a professional level of training and education for our employees,” says Melissa Hartzenberg, Conviron’s Training and Development Specialist. “We do very custom work, and wanted to provide training that was specific to the needs of the company, instead of just providing generalized training.”

So for seven and a half weeks, Conviron employees received customized training from RRC instructor Brad Peters. Many came into the program with little to no knowledge of certain safety and equipment processes, and completed the course with a significantly higher knowledge base.

Conviron employees were able to complete their training in-house, which allowed them to learn in an environment they were already comfortable with. Their instructors also benefitted from the in-house training by having the ability to understand the tools and equipment being used, and how employees interacted with them on a daily basis.

Not only was the training useful for employees, but management was also able to get a clearer picture of the challenges their team dealt with.

Upon completion of the program, trainees filled out course evaluations. The feedback provided was overwhelmingly positive, with 100 per cent of participants rating the instructors’ knowledge of subject matter as “excellent”.

Each participant was able to learn new information about their craft, meaning they found the course material to be comprehensive and engaging. Class discussions and questions encouraged participation and involvement. These discussions received positive feedback from employees once the course was complete.

“I really enjoyed great conversations that helped get the points across on all content,” one employee wrote in their post-training evaluation.

The course material was so concrete, and the feedback from employees and management so positive, that Conviron is already looking at dates to schedule their next training session with Corporate Solutions.

“Our hope is to move forward with another session specific to our refrigeration employees in the fall,” says Hartzenberg.

Over the past eight years, the goal of Corporate Solutions has been to bring the knowledge, skills and experience of RRC’s team and package it into a comprehensive training course for businesses across the province.

Conviron is one of many businesses Corporate Solutions has developed a training program for, and their positive feedback is what propels us to continue moving forward and striving to offer our clients the very best.

Contact the Corporate Solutions team at solutions@rrc.ca or 204-632-3776.