21 June 2022

A new course aimed at bolstering the region’s customer service skills and helping the local business community recover from the triple blow of COVID, fires and staff shortages will be offered at TAFE NSW Nowra next week.

For the first time in Nowra, a Statement of Attainment in Customer Service will be offered fee-free to the business community and aims to ensure customer-facing staff are equipped with the latest practical customer service skills.

The course is being supported by the Shoalhaven Food Network and the group’s chair, Di Laver, said it was a golden opportunity for businesses to build the customer service capacity of both their existing and new staff.

“Businesses in the Shoalhaven are bleeding and we were still catching up after fires and COVID before staff shortages started to hit,” Mrs Laver said.

“This course is about improving customer service but it’s also about bringing industries together and helping them realise they’re part of a bigger picture – the whole Shoalhaven is in this together.

“Anyone involved in customer service, regardless of what industry, will find a lot of value from the TAFE NSW expert teachers leading this course.”

Included in the two-day course are units on active listening, handling difficult customers, telephone techniques and more.

The course will be led by TAFE NSW Nowra hospitality and tourism teacher Debbie Pakis, who has almost four decades experience in the hospitality industry. She said the course would be dynamic and interactive, ensuring participants left with the practical, real-world skills to make an immediate difference on the job.

“We know how difficult it has been for local businesses over the last few years and we know how fundamental customer service is in the success of a business,” Ms Pakis said.

“It’s vital that customers get an authentic and professional experience when they enter a business because happy customers are repeat customers.

“This is also a way for local businesses to invest in and retain their staff at a time when many industries are suffering from staff shortages.”

The two-day course will be delivered on-site at Worrigee Sports Club on 27 and 28 June.

For more information, visit www.tafensw.edu.au or phone 131 601.

Media contact: Dan Johns, TAFE NSW Communications Specialist, mobile 0477 722 428