A major food business has joined forces with a local college to provide extra training for nearly 140 of its employees.

Otley College, near Ipswich, was approached by Haverhill-based food manufacturer VION around 18 months ago to create a tailored training programme for its employees.

VION HR manager Mascha Kok said: “Having previously worked with Otley, we were confident that they would provide a high-quality training programme that would meet our very specific needs. Our employees have really benefitted from the whole experience.”

Otley’s Trish McCarthy said it had been “a pleasure” to work with the staff.

“Some had been out of education for a number of years so it was especially pleasing to see them grow in confidence throughout this process,” she said.

“I would like to thank VION for all of their support – special mentions must go to Linda Spampanato and Mascha Kok. Also, to the Otley team of Jean Bleasdale, Darren Lambert, Debbie Waters, Drostan Stileman and Neil Ridley.”