duo uk develops nvq with the manchester college new &lsquoperforming manufacturing operations&rsquo nvq will spearhead training in manufacturing sector and aid prisoner rehabilitation at hm prison manchestermanchesterbased polythene manufacturer and packaging supplier duo uk has developed a specialist nvq with the manchester college, after the college approached duo uk looking for advice on course content.the partnership came about after the college, which is the education provider for hm prison manchester, was tasked with developing an nvq for those prisoners who work in the prison&rsquos inhouse print operation. in addition to aiding prisoners with their rehabilitation, the qualification will be available to those seeking a career in manufacturing as well as formally recognising the skills of those already working in the sector. hmp manchester operates an inhouse commercial printing operation which produces a range of lithographic and digital print products for clients such as the national offender management service noms, government organisations and commercial customers. a spokesperson explained &ldquohmp manchester is a working prison. that means we aim to give inmates an experience of &lsquoreal&rsquo workplaces, with the aim of increasing their chances of rehabilitation and employment once they&rsquore released. the printing operation is an important part of that programme. &ldquosince we set up our print operation in 2010, we&rsquove had considerable success but we identified quality control and manufacturing processes as areas we needed to boost inmates&rsquo expertise in.  we also thought there was an opportunity here to ensure inmates had the  chance to add a formal qualification to their cv, reflecting  the skills they had learnt from working in the print operation and boosting their employability. consequently we got in touch with the manchester college to explain what we needed and they were able to approach duo uk.&rdquothe manchester college&rsquos north west employment broker, gary spann, takes up the story &ldquowe recognised that duo uk would be a great partner for this project &ndash they are  a significant player in their industry turning over £25m a year and supplying high profile local companies such as jd williams, jd sports and keep britain tidy. they are also known for being highly innovative in their field and investing heavily in the training and development of their team, so we were optimistic we would be pushing at an open door.&ldquoin the event the team at duo were fantastic. they were more than willing to discuss best practice with hmp manchester and reveal what skills they looked for in their employees. this provided vital insight which we used to shape the content of the nvq, while working closely with duo to agree a final version.  &ldquothe aim was to ensure the qualification was completely relevant to the real world giving inmates the best possible chance of gaining employment when they were released. as well as providing practical advice duo uk showed a genuine interest in, and a real desire to support, both hmp manchester and the manchester college, which really helped the process run smoothly and speedily.&rdquothe result of the project is a city and guilds nvq diploma in performing manufacturing operations, which is now being used by the manchester college, hmp manchester and duo uk. duo uk&rsquos brand director, zoe brimelow, commented &ldquothere&rsquos a real lack of formal qualifications that recognise the skills needed to work within a modern manufacturing organisation.  this is problematic for us as a business as it makes it harder for us to recognise the skills our team has developed or to accurately identify skill levels among potential new recruits. for the manufacturing industry as a whole it is also far from ideal and does nothing to highlight the fantastic careers which are available in the sector.&ldquothese reasons alone were a powerful incentive to get involved in the scheme with hmp manchester, but we also genuinely believe that local companies should give back to the community where they can. this partnership allowed us to do this, both by supporting another local business and by potentially helping inmates successfully rehabilitate by starting a career in manufacturing, a sector where there is a significant skill shortage.  duo uk manufactures and supplies bespoke packaging products for leading eretail, retail and industrial brands with all aspects of the polythene manufacturing process carried out in house.for further information on duo products and services visit www.duouk.co.uk or phone 0161 203 5767.for further media information contact kate, lucy or nick at lucre on 0113 2431117 or email duo@lucre.co.uk
