6 minute read

big interview

Giving social mobility wheels

By HELEN COMPSON

Advertisement

At the very heart of Community Transport Sussex is the wish to stamp out the causes of social isolation.

Whether they result from rural living or the additional challenges posed by poor physical or mental health, the primary aim is to find a solution that enables people to get out of the house and to the destination of their choice.

General manager Matt Roberts said: “We exist to resolve social isolation for as many people as possible and the means by which we do that is keeping them connected through transport.

“The best services and entertainments can be provided for the elderly and the disabled, but if they can’t reach them they are not a lot of use - transport is one of those things that’s always forgotten by service commissioners!”

Community Transport Sussex was formed out of the merger of Crawley Community Transport, Bluebird Community Partnership and Horsham District Community Transport in 2016.

A charitable incorporated organisation, or CIO for short, it covers the districts of Horsham, Crawley and Mid-Sussex, along with East Grinstead, Henfield, Hurst, Adur and Worthing. That amounts to around a third of the county of West Sussex to date, and its patch continues to grow. CT Sussex is currently applying for funding to expand across the districts of Arun and Chichester too, filling the void left by another community transport company that folded a couple of years back.

Key to the 2016 merger was the strengthening of the three existing services in terms of scale and therefore financial viability, so they would avoid a similar fate.

Matt said: “It used to be difficult at times to apply for grant funding if a service was too small to be coterminous with a county’s borders.

“The charity has been set up in a very specific way so that, while operating as Community Transport Sussex, we can still define our services, including all of the quantitative data grant funders require, within a set of local boundaries when appropriate.”

Chief among its services is the Dial-aRide scheme that helps those who would otherwise struggle to access public transport, whether due to age, disability or the general lack of commercial services in their area.

Functional and practical, upon request it takes service users to the shops and to medical appointments and even to see their friends. Sometimes, if the issue is simply that they live in a rural area without public transport, it can be a matter of getting them to their local railway or bus station.

The second of CT Sussex’s three main services is the ‘group hire’ scheme whereby community and not-for-profit organisations can hire one of its minibuses. It works closely with many different types of groups of abilities and disabilities.

“There’s the Kangaroos charity for disabled young people, for example,” he said. “They take members out for activities and on short holidays. Then there’s the Stroke Club and the Parkinson’s Society, and many more besides.

“Often organisations either don’t need or can’t afford a minibus fulltime, but they do need the transport.”

When dispatching a minibus would be overkill, the charity’s third service kicks in, the voluntary car scheme that matches would-be passengers with local drivers willing to take them.

Most villages have at least three or four people who have difficulty accessing transport and an equal number happy to help.

Marrying them up was usually the easy part; ensuring that regulations were complied with for the protection of all concerned was trickier, said Matt. “Transport is one of the fields where you really do have to get the compliance right.

“We have a duty of care to all of our drivers and volunteers and the passengers as well, so we are scrupulous in ensuring absolutely everything is done properly.

“The whole idea is to make sure there is an integrated network of transport services that stretches right across the county.”

matt@ctsussex.org.uk

Apprentices are the lifeblood of our business

Phil Cottrell

Director GCL

We are at the very forefront of the technology we install and implement. We specialise in electrical, infrastructure, cabling, smart systems and M&E, working with consultants and end users in both the pre-build stage of construction and with building services’ contractors on site. We equip data centres and install integrated energy monitoring systems and energy efficient lighting systems, in some instances these have reduced clients’ energy usage by up to 80%.

Our apprenticeship programme is at the heart of what we do and a key element of how we grow our business. Our apprentices are currently working from commercial sites in central London and Exeter, plus a University in London. We follow their progress assiduously. Our Quality Assurance Manager oversees their learning progress and in addition to this, they are mentored and managed by three Key Account Managers.

It is not a short or easy process. There are many different paths to qualifications in this field. It can be very confusing since you might easily receive contradictory answers from different colleges or course providers. The qualifications framework changed in 2012 and the way to become an electrician is more complicated than ever.

Age is just a number – mature apprentices bring a wealth of experience

Greg’s career started in the print industry, learning on the job as a school leaver, 23 years ago. Greg progressed to a management position within the Finishing Department, within the same company. A reduction in work and the uncertainty of the future for the print industry, led to Greg seeking an alternative and more secure career option, which was particularly challenging as he had only ever known print!

Determined to secure a job within a growing industry, Greg secured a Network Cable Installation Apprenticeship with GCL Building Technologies. As an adult learner who found school tough the first time, Greg approached the challenge, determined to succeed and hasn’t looked back since. Greg is completing lots of different courses to achieve the apprenticeship from the CNet Training Network Infrastructure Centre at Barking & Dagenham College. He really enjoys the variety and is looking forward to learning to drive a cherry picker and scissor lift! Greg discovered this month he has passed both his English and Maths assessment papers. Greg is immensely proud of this and the experience has ignited his confidence to pass his English and Maths exams. Greg’s previous people management skills, combined with his easy going personality and keenness to learn has made onsite learning enjoyable as well as educational. Greg relishes any opportunity to work within a data comms room and aspires to continue to expand his knowledge to excel in this area once fully qualified.

Andy York, Quality Assurance Manager, overseeing Greg’s apprenticeship progress, had this to say: “Greg commenced his apprenticeship November 2020 and has already shown a great desire to learn and expand his knowledge even though the thought of returning to an education environment at this stage of his working life was initially quite daunting. He has managed to take everything in his stride and I’m sure will become a valuable asset to GCL both now and into the future”

Our apprentices all attend different colleges

Together with Greg we also have one more Network Cable Installation apprentice, plus four electrotechnical apprentices, one has only just started and has almost four years before he completes his apprenticeship. They are all undertaking qualifications via various routes and providers: City & Guilds Electrotechnical Apprenticeship (5357) or EAL Level 3 Diploma in Electrical Installation, which are college based, these then lead to an NVQ Level 3 on site assessed portfolio, followed by Achievement Measurement 2 (AM2) end point assessment at a dedicated test centre.

Our industry adopts apprentices as the only recognised vocational route to becoming a fully skilled employee and at present is the de facto path to become a qualified professional, undertaking this process is pivotal to our business. In a highly skilled and rapidly evolving technological sector our apprentices play a large part in maintaining our leading edge.

1 2 Greg

3 4

5 Our Apprentices 1 Connor 2 Ryan 3 Maikls 4 Tim 5 Finn

Find out more about what we can do

www.gcl.uk.com

This article is from: