Truro College (a partner in the Combined Universities in Cornwall initiative) has completed a management development programme for the Eden Project, the visitor destination and education facility whose huge 'biomes' rank among Cornwall's great landmarks.
Eden wanted a bespoke management development programme that would be accredited to provide a nationally recognised qualification. Truro College spent 8 months gaining a full understanding of Eden's needs, allowing it to develop the 'Discovery' programme for supervisors, junior and middle managers who had not previously had any formal management training.
The taught elements of the programme were delivered by industry specialists with teaching qualifications, plus an in-house Eden specialist. Assessment was mapped to National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) criteria, although students did not need to complete a typical NVQ portfolio as assessment was done through professional discussion. Themes covered by the programme included Teams, Quality, Environment / Sustainability, Customers and Projects.
Howard Jones from the Eden Project said:
"We asked Truro College to customise the courses for Eden because we felt there was nothing in the NVQ or management development programmes that suited our needs, either as an employer or as a new and evolving organisation. We have a particular way of looking at the world and frankly, no-one could deliver what we wanted.
We told Truro College about our needs and what our approach was and together we came up with the programme that we are now running. It is very closely focused on how Eden works and fits in very well with other organisational aspects, such as individual development plans."
He continued: "We have an excellent relationship with Truro College and have found them very flexible and prepared to listen. They spent a huge amount of time getting to understand us and looking very closely at exactly what our organisation wants and needs."
