Madison, WI — The International Dairy·Deli·Bakery Association™ (IDDBA) has launched training.iddba.org, a free online training website. Primarily aimed at supermarket dairy, deli, bakery, and prepared foods associates, the site offers training in food safety, bakery, and cheese in both English and Spanish. Training is free and available any time on any device at training.iddba.org.
The site delivers training through short videos efficiently accessed through smart phones, tablets, desktop computers, and a host of other internet-connected devices including some department scales. Each video is accompanied by a short assessment to test knowledge and retention. A personalized certificate of recognition is available upon successful completion along with additional training resources available from IDDBA and other organizations. Associate tracking also makes record keeping easy. A simple account must be created before a certificate or a tracking record can be generated.
“IDDBA wants to help ensure that all retail associates are equipped with the skills they need to provide shoppers with high quality, safe products,” said Mary Kay O’Connor, vice president, education, IDDBA. “And, frankly, we also want to show associates how to have some fun while they’re helping people in their stores. Shoppers want to learn something. Good product knowledge engages customers and helps answer questions about where foods come from and how to prepare them. It also brings customers back. At virtually zero material cost, the return on investment is tremendous.”
At this writing, training.iddba.org offers 17 modules in English and 17 in Spanish. Content areas include cakes, breads, food safety, and cheese. Additional customer service, deli sliced meats, bakery, and dairy food safety modules are under construction.
For more information, contact IDDBA’s Education Department at 608.310.5000 or education@iddba.org.
About IDDBA: IDDBA is a nonprofit membership organization serving the dairy, deli, bakery, cheese, and supermarket foodservice industries. Member companies enjoy many benefits and services including the annual seminar and expo, leading-edge research, training programs, management tools, and an annual trends report. We will celebrate 50 years of service in 2014. For more information, contact IDDBA at 608.310.5000 or visit our website, www.iddba.org.
Source: International Dairy·Deli·Bakery Association™ (IDDBA)
