The Garden Centre Association’s Garden Retail Online Workshops (GROW) e-Learning platform was presented with a ‘Highly Commended’ at the recent Totara Awards.

GROW received the accolade in the ‘Best Extended Enterprise Solution’ category and was given a special mention during the awards ceremony too.

GROW’s Instructional Designer, Antony Snow says: “These awards recognise the innovativeness, business impact and fulfilment of a market need using the Totara platform, so I’m extremely proud that the GCA’s commitment to making GROW a key tool for training our members’ employees has been recognised.

“I’d also like to thank Hubken Group, who have been our Totara partner since 2022, for their continued support, which helps us to maintain this commitment.”

Totara is a global leader in flexible learning technology solutions and the Totara Awards recognise the most innovative, inspiring, and successful implementation of their products from around the world.

The Best Extended Enterprise Solution is given to the organisation that has built a platform that focuses on providing learning, education, certification, and skills development to multiple audiences.

GROW is available to all GCA garden centre members and their teams, as well as to those at Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) garden centres too.

GCA Chief Executive, Peter Burks adds: “Last year, the platform was shortlisted as a finalist in the Association Excellence Awards for Best Learning/Professional Development Programme too, so it’s now really getting noticed as an important training tool.”

GROW started as an initial idea, devised 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’s a self-funding and non-profit facility with any surpluses being reinvested into its ongoing development and improvement. Currently there are 87 courses and 12,000 plus users throughout the UK.

These courses include a wide range of topics that cover horticulture, customer service, food safety, regulated sales and health and safety.

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

Peter adds: “GROW provides a cost-effective way of giving staff training and personal development that enhances the customer experience. It’s accessible 24/7, making it convenient for people to log-in when it suits them.

“Member garden centres say it’s an effective and essential training tool that also gives their staff additional confidence. If you’d like further details about GROW, please get in touch. There’s a section on our website www.gca.org.uk/gca-grow-information with information too.”