Our flour milling distance learning programme has been around for so long (older readers probably still call them the correspondence courses!) that it is easy to overlook how well suited it is to the learning demands of our professional and modern industry.
Yet it continues to provide the foundation stone of milling training. The association is proud that it can facilitate this training for the industry. However, this is not training delivered from an office in London. The programme is reliant on the support of practical millers, many of whom are involved as either tutors or examiners.
Each of the team of seven examiners drafts one of the year’s examination papers, and then they all meet to ‘moderate’ both questions and marking schedule, to ensure that all papers are fair, unambiguous and meet the test specification; and then spend much of their ‘spare time’ in May and June, marking and rechecking exam scripts.
The team of eight tutors is responsible for the production of lessons for each of the seven modules; they mark and return coursework that comes in via email or post; they are increasingly active in meeting students in the Virtual Mill, and contribute to its development; and, together with the relevant examiner, are by far the major contributors to the regular updating of the textbooks.
We are grateful to everyone involved, though the most common reason heard for being a tutor or examiner is that “they wish to give something back to an industry that has done so much for them”.
Their input, together with that of UK Flour Millers’ staff, ensures that the programme remains up to date and fit for purpose, aspiring to the same characteristics as the association itself: professional, reliable, important, modern, and efficient.
If you would be interested in becoming a tutor or examiner, or assisting the development of our training resources in other ways, please contact our newly-appointed Training Manager, Steve Faerber (stevefaerber@ukflourmillers.org). Vacancies do not arise all that often but there will be a need to appoint one or two new examiners over the next year or so.
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