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Why did Barclays create
bu?
The creation of bu reflects two realities.
First, that the pace of change in business is accelerating and the training
and development service that Barclays needs to deliver has got to match
this pace in responsiveness and flexibility. Secondly, that the businesses
and people within the bank need and want more control over their careers
and lives.
bu is Barclays recognition that making
a more comprehensive and flexible range of learning opportunities available
to all helps deliver the benefits that as a company, and as individuals,
we all want.
What will
bu be?
The bu team is conducting a comprehensive
overhaul of how the bank delivers learning and development. We are working
towards an ideal in which every individual and every team has access to
the learning opportunities they need.
Here is our vision of what bu will
ultimately deliver:
- bu will reward self-motivation and personal responsibility
- if Barclays staff really need and want learning and training they
will get it
- bu will give more learning options than ever before
- bu is being structured to help define our employeesí
own career direction and then helping them to make it happen
- bu will deliver significantly better job- and
career-related learning - but it wonít stop there. bu will be
there for the whole person - helping them to broaden their horizons
in non-vocational areas as well
- bu will progressively break down the bureaucratic
barriers that obstruct individuals or teams realising their potential
In short, bu is about empowerment, choice and access.
Where
are you up to?
These are still early days. The bu
concept was initiated in November 2000 but the strategy already has a
lot of substance. We have already developed many of the facilities and
much of the infrastructure that our strategy demands - facilities that
are already being used by Barclays staff today. These include:
bu
library
Where Barclays staff can order, free of
charge, high-quality work and non-work related learning materials via
e-mail, the web, or on the telephone. With the support of the bu
team, Barclays
University library is offering an enhanced
service, open to all employees with easier access to the loaning of learning
materials.
bu
metro centres
Barclays has opened new bu metro
centres in Birmingham,
Manchester and Bristol
. Three more bu metro centres will be open
by the end of this year. These substantial multimedia learning facilities
allow team leaders to book, on their own initiative, training rooms and
courses for their staff. Team leaders are also being inducted into a philosophy
of mentoring, which directs and empowers them to work with their team
members on individual performance issues.
bu
study PCs
In many branch locations and offices, study
PCs are starting to appear. These dedicated resources are providing individuals
with the opportunity and facilities to conduct job-related study to learn
new skills or address performance issues.
bu
direct
Barclays has developed a dedicated telephone
advice service offering advice and guidance about available courses and
learning options.
Learning
funding pilot
Thousands of employees in selected business
areas have been given access to a learning funding pilot scheme and many
are already using their £150 ëno strings attachedí fund to conduct study
in areas as diverse as psychology, foreign languages, aerobics instruction
and personal assertiveness.
Partnership
with learndirect
bu has formed close links with learndirect
providing easy access to over 500,000 courses from hundreds of providers
ranging from life skills to vocational training.
bu has also developed relationships
with learndirect centres in the West Midlands,
North West and South East.
These centres create a network of learning environments based around the
bu metro centre. They provide a dedicated space - called bu
hubs - for Barclays staff to work at in learning centres that are nearer
their homes and that have longer opening hours than the bu metro
centres. This means our staff can do their job-specific training, as well
as other sorts of training, from locations which are accessible and convenient
for them.
We aim to develop similar links with learndirect
centres in other parts of the country as we open more bu metro
centres throughout this year.
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