Evergreen Healthfoods has once again gained industry recognition for their commitment to training and education when staff member Kate Malascova placed top of the class [Ireland] in the Diploma in Health Food Retailing exams for 2009, certified with the Health Food Institute in the UK.
Ms Malascova’s results won her the inaugural Andrew Cape Memorial Award, which was presented to her on 11th September this year at the annual Irish Association of Health Stores dinner in Dublin, which forms part of their annual Rude Health Show at the RDS.
Evergreen’s ongoing commitment to training is evident when you look at the results of the last number of years. In three out of the last four years, a member of Evergreen staff has scored top marks in the Diploma exam, two of whom topped the class both in Ireland & the UK. Evergreen have also put forward more candidates for exams than any other health store in the country.
A total of 78 candidates have been put forward for exams – both Certificate & Diploma – since Evergreen Healthfoods opened in 1992. Owner Aideen Hurley was the first Evergreen representative to do the exam, having herself been awarded the Diploma in the company’s first year of business. With the company now expanded across five Galway stores, Evergreen continue to invest in the training of their staff.
Recognised by industry experts in Ireland & the UK, the Certificate & Diploma courses are run primarily by distance learning, culminating with an exam in April each year. The Diploma is the second instalment in the exams, with Ms Malascova having taken the first instalment [Certificate Exam] in 2007.
The exams in Health Food Retailing are managed each year by the Irish Association of Health Stores. They have been running in Ireland for more than 15 years, and form an integral part of the ongoing staff training within the Irish Health Store industry.
