TRAINING
S
Southeastern on track with good customer service outheastern has been
recognised at the National Training
Awards for its work training and developing its staff. As a winner for the South East it comes shortly after achieving the bronze accreditation for Investors in People.
Since taking over the franchise in 2006, Southeastern has been committed to improving the skills of its employees and invested £10.3 million in training. The money has been put towards initiatives such
as the NVQ Customer Service programme. Currently 45% have an NVQ and the company aims to push on to achieve 50% by the summer of 2011.
Andy Bindon, HR director at Southeastern explains, “As a company we are committed to investing in our staff. The investment we have put in and continue to put in, not only provides a benefit for passengers, it also shows our commitment to our employees. It is vital to provide employees with the right tools and skills to do their job.
But even more important help give them the confidence and job satisfaction to maximize their own potential. As we lease our trains and rent the railway infrastructure, our employees are absolutely our biggest asset.”
Participants in the NVQ programme have demonstrated how to deal with queries, build rapport, deliver on promises and build good relationships with customers. This has encouraged employee engagement and has helped reduce absenteeism.
The range of qualifications has also been expanded to include apprenticeships, BTEC and Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) courses.
“As a business we have seen great improvements. In the latest National Passenger Survey run independently by Passenger Focus, we achieved our highest ever satisfaction rate, 81%. We hope that we can continue to build on that,” Andy Bindon concluded.
Work set to start on Tunnelling and Underground
Construction Academy ork is set to start on a new academy which will give
W
thousands of young people the skills and training needed to kick-start a career in construction after VolkerFitzpatrick was notified of Crossrail’s intention to award the contract to them.
Next month sees the start of TUCA, the new Tunnelling and Underground Construction Academy in east London, which will use Crossrail, Europe’s largest transport infrastructure project, to offer training to at least 3,500 people in underground construction alone over the lifetime of the project.
At its peak, Crossrail will employ some 14,000 people and will provide a crucial boost for London’s economy. The Tunnelling and Underground Construction Academy aims to address the shortage of people with the necessary skills to work on Crossrail and other tunnelling projects across the UK.
TUCA will start to offer training in spring 2011 and the building will be fully open by summer 2011. Following the completion of Crossrail, the academy will
Oct/Nov 10
remain providing a lasting legacy for London and the UK construction industry.
The establishment of a Tunnelling and Underground Construction Academy is an important part of Crossrail meeting its commitments to improve skills and create employment opportunities within the industry. It will provide training on the key skills required to work in tunnel excavation and underground construction.
The Tunnelling and Underground Construction Academy will be a purpose-built facility providing training on the key skills required to work in tunnel excavation and underground construction.
Whist the UK has tunnelling expertise and knowledge there is not a purpose-built training facility in the UK to act as a focal point for the industry. Currently the nearest tunnelling and underground training centre is in Switzerland.
The Academy will be located at Aldersbrook Sidings on the border of Newham and Redbridge, close to Ilford town centre. Enabling works are
currently taking place on site ahead of main construction starting.
Crossrail tunnelling activity will get underway in late 2011. In just over one year from now the first tunnel boring machines will start on their journey from Royal Oak towards Farringdon. This will be followed shortly by the launch of further tunnel boring machines in Docklands that will head towards Farringdon under central London. Teams of dedicated construction workers will be working 24 hours a day to complete the tunnels with thousands of others employed to upgrade the existing rail network and build major new stations along the central section of the route.
Terry Morgan, Crossrail chairman, said: “As well as delivering much needed additional rail capacity, Crossrail has an important role to play in supporting regeneration and the economy. Ensuring that job opportunities are made available to Londoners - and that Londoners have the skills required - is a vital part of Crossrail’s approach to construction.
“Contractors winning work with Crossrail will recruit and employ local people along the construction route and it is likely many of these people will attend training at the Academy. This will ensure that we have people with the right skills in place to deliver Crossrail for London and many other vital infrastructure projects in the future.”
The volume of tunnelling and underground construction work taking place in the UK over the next decade is unprecedented. Aside from Crossrail, Thames Water will be constructing the Thames Tideway Tunnel sewerage scheme while National Grid will be constructing new electricity cable tunnels under London.
Crossrail needs the new Academy to address the shortage of people with the necessary skills to work on construction of the new railway. The Academy will ensure that all people working underground on Crossrail sites achieve the Underground Safety Passport. Crossrail anticipates that 3,500 underground workers will require training of some sort over the lifetime of the project.
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