The consortium approach

The consortium approach allows members to share a labour pool enabling Pro-Force to actively employee staff throughout the year, enabling staff to be trained and improve the skill base that our staff offer it also enables grants for the group.

Pro-Force actively encourage all new clients to become part of a consortium, we currently operate consortiums in Kent, and Hampshire and looking at further consortiums in Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and Scotland.

In 2003 Bill Harris developed and coordinated a group of horticultural nurseries to form SCION – a not-for-profit organisation for group purchasing of services such as seasonal labour. With fourteen member nurseries in Southern Hampshire and West Sussex, SCION brings bargaining strength to bear in ensuring competitive rates and a reliable, consistent supply of quality labour.

2008 saw the launch of SCION Kent Coordinated by Chris Rose, the SCION coordinators provides independent audits on Pro-Force, ensuring that all legislative and ethical requirements are met. A structured training plan has been devised, and a Vocational Training Scheme Grant gained, that will produce practically skilled people – urgently needed to achieve productivity improvement in the Agricultural and Horticulture sectors.

The consortiums are set up as a non profit membership:

• Not-for-profit organisation – for group purchasing of services such as seasonal labour
• Management committee & coordinator
• Formal constitution
• Bargaining strength = competitive rates and improved service
• Independent coordinator acting on the members’ behalf
• Reliable, consistent supply of quality labour, meeting all legislation
• Eliminates the use of illegal/exploited labour, meets all employment legislation, to the benefit of your customers
• Customised SCION Contract/T&Cs/Service Level Agreement covers Members’ needs and protects their interests
• SCION coordinator audits the agency = long term security
• Eliminates the ever-increasing traps of “buying the cheapest”
• Large bank of workers available for assignment
• Workers briefed on the members operations and H&S before assignment
• Same workers assigned whenever possible
• Number of General Workers required may be flexed daily
• The agency has assigned a senior individual to manage the SCION accounts.
• Matrix of industry skills and training programme developed
• Selected workers trained in each module
• Pro-Force contributes to training
• Completion of range of modules qualifies worker for upgrade to Core Worker
• Core Workers paid more and utilised by SCION Members year-round
• Core Workers provide potential Supervisors for the future
• Our agency meets current legislation and will ensure operation to all future legal requirements and codes of practice
• The old-style supply-only of seasonal workers offered by other agencies cannot be directly compared with the rigorous and comprehensive SCION approach
• SCION’s approach already incorporates advanced concepts (such as the trained Core Worker) that are not available from any other agency
• SCION develops the supply of seasonal workers into a comprehensive and increasingly skilled people resource that will help fuel your growth

Overall, SCION delivers 'Best Practice' in the supply of seasonal labour – a real competitive edge.