THE GARDEN Centre Association (GCA) has introduced a new module on till security through its Garden Retail Online Workshops (GROW) e-Learning platform (April 2023).

The GCA’s ‘Till Security’ GROW module will help its members prevent losses at the tills.

Antony Snow, Instructional Designer for GROW at the GCA, said: “We’re delighted to be offering this new Till Security module for our members. Each year, retailers throughout the UK lose significant sums of money, and therefore profit, from theft or by becoming the victim of a scam or other fraudulent activity, so this course will help our member garden centres and their staff to prevent losses at the tills.”

The GCA’s GROW modules cover a range of valuable topics to help employees gain knowledge and confidence in products and services to provide customers with the best advice.

The new module is available immediately to existing subscribers and the GROW e-Learning facility is available to GCA member garden centres, as well as to Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) garden centre members too.

Peter Burks, GCA Chief Executive, said: “We are always looking ahead to improve GROW, which is one of our most vital services we provide for our GCA members. This recent addition has been carefully put together by Antony to complement our existing offering.

“Many of our members have commented on how effective our service has been to bring education and training to employees, which improves their knowledge to assist others in the workplace, whether colleagues or customers.

“It’s available 24/7, so garden centre staff can update their expertise when it’s suitable for them. It’s a cost-effective way of delivering training and personal developments too, which, in turn, benefits customers’ experiences when visiting a garden centre and this is good for everyone.”

GROW started as an initial idea, thought up during a strategy meeting of the GCA’s executive committee, to bring education and training tailored to individuals employed in the garden centre industry. It is a self-funding and non-profit making facility with any surpluses being reinvested into the ongoing development and improvement of GCA GROW. Currently there are 105 modules and more than 12,000 users throughout the UK.

The 105 modules include a wide range of topics that cover horticulture, customer service, food safety, regulated sales and health and safety.

The accredited food safety and health and safety topics are categorised as either level one or two.

All the modules have been written by experts in their field and are designed to apply to a garden centre environment, with the content for the horticultural modules drawing on the vast experience of members within the GCA.

Peter added: “Users can be assured that they are always receiving the correct, practical and unbiased advice, as well as solutions to problems and help with gardening projects.”

“Garden centres interested in signing up to GROW can enquire online at www.gca.org.uk/gca-grow-information or contact grow@gca.org.uk for further information.”

The platform is also available to HTA members.

The GCA represents more than 200 garden centres nationwide.

Through sharing information and its inspection programme the GCA helps members to achieve high standards in customer service, plant quality and reliability.

For further information, please visit www.gca.org.uk.