ACI's people matter too

By Dita De Boni

The upgrade of ACI's glass packaging plant in Penrose involves people as well as machines.

The company recently celebrated the first birthday of its Milestone Learning Centre, which has seen 94 of 200 employees complete courses to help them adjust from manual systems to computerised technology.

Human Resources manager Bruce Woodcock says many have a long history with the company - "our 25-year club grows substantially every year" - and needed to learn new skills to cope with changed manufacturing methods.

Many do not speak English as a first language and have needed basic literacy training.

After this and courses in subjects like maths and communications, they move to computer courses and more advanced, work-related instruction.

Participation is voluntary, but those identified by the company as needing training are "tapped on the shoulder."