RPC Containers specialises in injection-moulding of polypropylene open-top containers for paint, DIY, food and other allied industries.

Expertise includes off-set printing, in-mould and adhesive labelling, as well as gasket sealing.

It is part of the RPC Group, Europe’s leading manufacturer of rigid plastic packaging, and is unique in offering products made by all three main conversion processes, blow moulding, injection moulding and thermoforming. The company has 46 autonomous sites in 12 countries, employing more than 6,500 people.

RPC services a comprehensive range of customers - the larger European manufacturers of consumer products, such as Unilever and Kraft to small national businesses.

The RPC site in Oakham in Rutland employs 450 people around the clock, seven days a week on a fixed shift system. Job roles include packing staff, setters, engineers, warehouse staff and technical print and moulding operatives.  RPC has seen year on year growth of turnover, a successful performance in a highly competitive marketplace.

Gillian Doughty, Personnel Manager, who has been with the company for six years, has taken up the challenge of consolidating what was previously a disjointed and ad hoc approach to training and development.  She explains: “It was essentially the Investors in People (IiP) programme that set us on the path to a more holistic approach to workforce development.”

Gillian has worked closely with Cogent SSC IiP specialist and Regional Team Leader, Bill Erskine to embed the IiP approach right across the RPC organisation.  Gillian said: “In the past we had a rather sporadic approach to investing in our people. Our managers had very good intentions, but we were using a range of training suppliers and there was no evaluation of the training itself.”

Kaizen

Over the past eighteen months RPC has been working with a fresh approach, and as part of this has introduced a number of new initiatives  One of the most successful has been 'Kaizen' which has seen cross-functional groups coming together to consider issues such as scrap, down-time and making working life easier and more productive in general. The benefits include both greater flexibility and productivity.

The Kaizen method of continuous improvement originates from Japan and is a concept for change. The key elements are quality, willingness to embrace change and the involvement of all employees. The end result is improved morale and performance improvement.

Gillian says: “Investors in People is about good management, and means that an organisation's success and performance is directly linked to the quality, ability and commitment of its staff. We believe that RPC staff have an important contribution to make to the overall success of the business.”

Regular appraisal is an important aspect of the IiP approach, as is both job-specific and developmental training. RPC Containers conducts some areas of training in-house. The company employs four training officers, and there are twenty production operatives who are also trained trainers.

The training and development programme includes management development, supervisory skills and a comprehensive series of NVQs from packing, moulding and setting through to printing and supervisory.  Two training officers have recently completed the NVQ in Level 4 Training and Development and one further individual is undertaking the qualification.

One member of staff has just completed a Modern Apprenticeship, yet another has recently joined the Modern Apprenticeship scheme and the company is looking to take on more young people, with Gillian noting the government funding for apprenticeships is a very welcome boost.

RPC Containers is also involved in the Young Apprenticeship Scheme (where 14-16 year old school students spend part of the academic year based with an employer) and support this locally, with Gillian representing local businesses at the Council 14-19 Strategic Partnership Meeting,  A Graduate Scheme is also in operation, which is a two-year programme, mainly for engineering graduates.

Gillian relishes the challenge - which can at times be very demanding as the company HR department has a strength of two.

She says, “We have made great strides, but the challenges are ongoing. Like many other companies who took part in the recent Cogent SSC survey, we still face recruitment and retention difficulties - particularly as people continue to leave the area to pursue careers in areas that are already terribly oversubscribed! But if people stay beyond six months, they tend to stay with us long-term.”

Indeed RPC has many long-serving and committed people who have given twenty-five to thirty years' service to the company.

Gillian says that RPC has recognised the importance of developing people: “You can have the best machinery in the world - but without skilled and contributing people, the organisation would grind to a halt.”

Two-way

RPC is committed to a two-way process which includes quarterly team briefings and Toolbox Talks. There is also an Employee Forum and an in-house magazine, as well as employee surveys. The most recent of these was managed by Cogent Regional Team Leader, Bill Erksine. Says Gillian: “We did one two years ago, so we will use that as the baseline and develop an action plan to move forward on the issues which will no doubt arise from the most recent survey.”

RPC is also a part of the local Polymer Network and Gillian reports that she finds this invaluable in relation to finding out about funding and best practice, as well as updates around skills issues from Cogent SSC and the Lincolnshire and Rutland Learning and Skills Council.

Adds Gillian: “Cogent is working on behalf of local employers, to find out the skills we really need here in Rutland. It’s all very well having our young people going off to do, for example, media studies - but the jobs just aren’t there.

“We need engineers and process experts. And we need all the help we can get in positioning our industry as one that offers a solid career and plenty of opportunities. It would also be very nice to keep people in the area - many feel the need to move out, but the jobs are here - we just need to develop the right kind of skills.”

Bill Erskine added: “RPC Oakham provide an outstanding example of the benefits of integrating a comprehensive workforce development policy with challenging Business Plan objectives. Sustained success in a competitive marketplace has resulted and a culture of continuous improvement embedded to maintain progress with future business development"