Merseytravel sppeds towards training success
Tuesday 23 February 2010
One of Merseyside’s top apprentices is continuing her passion for training by working in her employer’s in-house training academy.
Nicola Parker, 17, from West Derby, the current Merseytravel Apprentice of the Year, is now working full time as a Process Assistant in the organisation’s learning department, known as Merseylearn.
Merseylearn was established as a management and union partnership to improve the skills of workers at Merseytravel and promote a common learning culture throughout the organisation.
Merseylearn operates in conjunction with the Learning and Skills Council for Greater Merseyside (LSC), GoSkills and Unionlearn.
Nicola progressed from her Apprenticeship in Business Administration in December last year directly into her new role.
Nicola said: “The variety of training at Merseytravel is great. During my Apprenticeship I had placements in four different departments, so I learnt about a number of different aspects of the organisation.
“Now, as part of my job within the Learning team, I encourage fellow employees to go on training courses and improve their skills. I’ve been on lots of course myself, as part of my Apprenticeship, so I know how beneficial they are.”
The project has been a great success with the number of promotions within the organisation increasing by 10% and Merseytravel receiving Investor in People Champion status.
Steve Woods, Merseylearn Project Worker with Merseytravel said: “Offering Apprenticeships to young people such as Nicola is just one of the training aspects of Merseylearn. Our training system has had a great effect, not only for Merseytravel as an organisation but also for the general public who use our services.”
Merseylearn is now working with local taxi companies, Merseyrail and bus operators to support the up-skilling of the wider transport community to provide a higher quality passenger journey to all. In addition to this, the European Social Fund (ESF) is also playing a significant role across the region by investing in jobs and skills to support the people of Merseyside. .
Paul Tinsley, Partnership Director for the LSC in Greater Merseyside, said: “The LSC is delighted to support a comprehensive training programme such as Merseylearn. This is a great example of how training benefits not only an organisation and its employees, but the wider community, who enjoy an improved service.”
