Saluting those on the front line01 February 2007
While London sleeps, there can be up to 5,000 people carrying out maintenance and renewal activities to ensure the Underground network is returned to safe service in the morning.
Now Metronet Rail, responsible for renewing two-thirds of London's Tube, is formally recognising the skills of its front-line workers by awarding them the relevant National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs).
Investing in people makes good business sense and, as part of the 30-year, £17 billion Public Private Partnership (PPP) with London Underground, Metronet is required to provide evidence that individual employees are competent in their jobs, and hold the appropriate safety and training certificates.
Metronet is responsible for upgrading, replacing and maintaining the Tube infrastructure - its trains, stations, signalling, track, tunnels and bridges - for nine of the 12 lines.
This process of competency assurance - assessment of individuals in their workplace, with evidence of their competency sent to an accreditation body - is similar to what is required to achieve an NVQ. With this synergy in hand as part of the process, Metronet employees also have the opportunity to gain NVQs.
The new scheme is particularly aimed at manually skilled operatives, such as chargehands who are responsible for the maintenance of the track, but also extends to other areas of the business, including fleet and signals.
"Metronet is committed to investing in its people," says Metronet learning and development manager Susanna Dillon, "and this opportunity proves that we are not just paying lip service to that claim. We're recognising the skills our employees have. People who are working on the railway are skilled in what they're doing and now we have evidence of their competency."
More than 2,000 employees will face assessment over a number of months and most of those eligible under this scheme will receive Level 2 or Level 3 awards, which are also recognised by the SOE and throughout the railway industry, as well as being endorsed by London Underground.
For many individuals, this will be the first qualification or professional certification that they have received, which is not only important on a personal level, but will improve their employability in the long term.
Dillon says Metronet is leading the railway industry with this scheme and hopes other rail companies will soon follow suit. "Most industry bodies accredit at a senior level. The SOE accreditation has given all people encouragement and proves that you don't have to be a very senior engineer to be part of a professional organisation."
Metronet track inspector Paul Slattery has worked for London Underground and Metronet for around 10 years and, in that time, progressed from the role of operative to chargehand and now track inspector. "The NVQ award is a nice thing to have on my resume," he says. "If, in the future, I decide to leave Metronet, I will have an extra qualification that will certainly improve my employment chances."
His work takes place in the small window of time each night - less than four hours - when the trains are not running. A normal shift may involve re-railing and changing sleepers on the track, work that must be planned meticulously and carried out quickly.
Personal achievement
Slattery describes the qualification process as straightforward, with assessors observing him as he undertook his normal work, making sure he was operating safely and using the correct working methods.
"For those individuals who do want to move on beyond their current job, the NVQ awards do give extra motivation," he states.
Metronet chargehand Scott Godfrey said the Level 3 NVQ award he is due to receive will be actual proof of his competence and is transferable to other industries. "It's a personal achievement and it shows that Metronet take its workforce seriously," he says.
Metronet's Learning and Development Awards Gala in January saw NVQ awards presented to employees - and around 1,000 more people will be recognised as the programme progresses.
"Most of these employees are on the front line where their work is often under-recognised," points out Metronet vice president of learning and development Karen McKenzie-Irvine.
"The new programme is good for Metronet, as it shows we are serious about developing our workforce, but it's also important on an individual level to give those people, who are often working in challenging conditions, the professional recognition they deserve.
"Metronet is now actively endorsing and acknowledging the skill of our people," adds McKenzie-Irvine. "Our people are not unskilled labourers, they're highly skilled engineers."
The competency assurance process has been undertaken with the help of Four Counties Training, which specialises in assisting the delivery of training, assessment and competence assurance in the workplace.
As specialists, they were able to advise Metronet on the process of introducing NVQ recognition, as well as seeking Government funding for the NVQ awards themselves.
Inside view
- Metronet Rail is actively recognising the skills of its front-line workers with a number of relevant NVQs
- As part of its Public Private Partnership with London Underground, Metronet is required to provide evidence that individual employees are competent in their jobs, and hold the appropriate safety and training certificates
- There can be up to 5,000 people carrying out maintenance and renewal activities on the London Underground network on any one night
- More than 2,000 Metronet employees will face assessment over several months, with most of those eligible receiving Level 2 or Level 3 awards
SOE
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