More than 300 employees trained through Summa
About 300 employees of BAS Group followed the training 'Working safely with electric vehiclesvia Summa. Pleun Driessen, Learning & Development Coordinator at BAS, enthusiastically discusses this program. "BAS is a leader in electric vehicles, so it's no surprise that we're the first to implement this training."
BAS Group has never before undertaken such a large-scale project. “In collaboration with Summa, we've trained around 300 employees, which is enormous. We wanted to organize a training course on working safely, but weren't sure how to go about it. We enlisted Summa's help and together developed a comprehensive curriculum. We also involved people from the field so we could define exactly what the program should include. Our goal? To teach our colleagues how to consciously handle and work with electric vehicles. The training was aimed at all employees who didn't work on electric vehicles, but who would encounter them. Our mechanics were already trained, of course, but now we've also trained the people in the warehouse and reception, among others.”
Safety first
What should I consider? How can I best advise and inform customers about electric vehicles? And what basic knowledge do I need to interact safely with my colleagues who work on electric vehicles? These questions were central to the training. "The training focused specifically on safety; after a pilot with four groups, we started training the rest of the employees. In total, Summa provided more than twenty training sessions, in Dutch, Spanish, and Polish. Two weeks ago, additional training sessions were even provided for new employees."
Self-confidence and growth
Pleun is enthusiastic about the collaboration. "We're eager to continue this process and are therefore making it a permanent part of the onboarding program. The collaboration with Summa is also going very well, and we both work together effectively. At BAS, we play a facilitating role, arranging a space, staff, and a truck, while Summa focuses on the content and training." BAS is hearing a lot of positive feedback about the training. "The feedback from employees has been excellent. They're happy to have received information about it and to have been able to learn more. This shows they truly needed it. We've noticed that many employees were unaware; that feeling has been dispelled, and they now feel confident in the workplace."
Leading the transition
Due to its success, BAS Truck Center has now launched an in-depth training program. "Together with Summa, we're now also training employees in one of our workshops. Here, they work with used vehicles, and a select group of mechanics receives in-depth training with the goal of eventually working on electric vehicles as well. We believe it's important to be a leader in the transition to electric vehicles, but we can't do that without our people."