A total of 12 Oakland International employees have received mental health first aider training and qualified as mental health first aiders.
The organisation specialises in direct to consumer, case consolidation, contract packing, storage and distribution, food tempering, and brand development support for all types of food, across the UK and Ireland. It employees over 750 employees.
Delivered by St. John’s Ambulance, the two-day course included training on how to recognise the signs and symptoms of common workplace mental health issues and how to effectively guide a person towards the right mental health support. It also covered factors that can affect wellbeing, how to spot mental illness triggers and signs, first aid, and how to create a positive mental health culture in the workplace.
The successful employees were awarded a Level Three Mental Health Workplace First Aider qualification, which is equivalent to an A-Level.
Kate Hewitt, head of talent development at Oakland International, said: “We are delighted to confirm that our first group of mental health first aider trainees are now all fully qualified to support in the workplace. While we’d rather our employees didn’t experience mental health issues; we’re delighted to know our team are now trained and equipped to provide support when needed.”
Nicola Harris, group HR director at Oakland International, added: “I would like to thank all our trainees for accepting our invitation to become a mental health first aider as their willingness to participate and share their personal experiences, was humbling, and it’s now good to know we’re closer to our aim of having one mental health first aider on each shift, at each of our depots.”
Oakland International, which is a Certified B Corporation and an equal opportunities employer, offers its employees volunteering opportunities, employee recognition awards, a hardship loan, discounts, a death-in-service scheme, an advice, information and counselling service, and an onsite gym facility at its Redditch site.
