Business News
On the right track: Anne Duddy with Joan Smith
All aboard with Solihull patron
Virgin Trains has become the newest patron of Solihull Chamber. The firm, which recently celebrated its 20th birthday, has its headquarters in the West Midlands. Under its stewardship, Virgin
Trains has transformed the West Coast Main Line, with customers benefitting from more services between Birmingham and London (up from 31 to 48 each week day), faster journey times and a number of industry firsts. These include introducing a fleet of tilting trains, the on-board entertainment system BEAM, and the launch e-tickets and automated delay repay. The company was also the first
to employ a female train guard on the route, Anne Duddy, who was joined by Solihull Chamber director Joan Smith, to mark the start of
‘It is just over an hour to travel to London which is extraordinary when some of us take longer than that to get to work every day by car’
Virgin Trains patronage. “The service is unrecognisable
from the one we inherited back in 1997,” explained Anne, now customer experience manager for the West Midlands route. “London is less than an hour and a half away from Birmingham, and just 70 minutes from the NEC. “That’s great news for customers,
local business and the leisure industry. The railways are now more popular than ever before, with more and more people choosing to travel by train.” Virgin Trains has its headquarters in the West Midlands, and employs
more than 1,000 people at locations in Coventry, Birmingham and Wolverhampton. So in addition to providing a vital artery for the local economy, it remains a key employer. Anne said: “As a local girl I’m
incredibly proud of what has been achieved in the last 20 years. That wouldn’t have been possible without the support of our customers and the likes of the local Chamber who deserve great credit for their energy in showcasing some of the many things the region has to offer.” “That’s why we jumped at the chance to become patrons of the
Chamber and support their great work as we look forward to the next 20 years.” Joan Smith said: “It is fantastic
to have Virgin Trains as a Solihull Chamber patron. They are looking to have much more engagement with Solihull members and our key business partners in the area. “HS2 has had royal assent now
but is still years away. Virgin Trains want to shout about the here and now. It is just over an hour to travel to London which is extraordinary when some of us take longer than that to get to work every day by car.
“It is a delight to have so many
Solihull patrons on board now to engage and partner with each other to make Solihull a better place to live and work.”
College welcomes new director
Solihull College & University Centre has appointed Rosa Wells as its new director of employment and skills. Rosa began her career as a trainee in aerospace
manufacturing and spent a decade teaching at a number of colleges across the UK, before being appointed programme manager of engineering at Solihull. While working at the college, Rosa has developed a
Newly promoted: Rosa Wells
number of successful programmes to help boost the numbers of women in traditional male dominated areas. As well as this she has worked with professional engineering institutions to support apprentice development and improve schools engagement. Rosa’s promotion has been welcomed by Solihull Chamber director Joan Smith, who has also been
working towards closing the skills gap, and who said: “I’ve already been working with Rosa on the WISE project for almost a year. One of my passions is the skills gap, especially in the engineering sector, where there is a need to raise awareness about recruiting more women. I am very excited about working with Rosa in the coming months and years.” Rosa said: “I aim to engage effectively with curriculum teams to ensure that the college confidently embeds and continually improves employer and stakeholder relationships and planning for apprenticeship and skills development.”
For more Solihull news, see pages 28 and 29 May 2017 CHAMBERLINK7
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