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Four apprentices with Keith Jipps, customer
service director, Norman Baker MP and
managing director Neal Lawson
FCC launches new apprentice scheme
by Peter Brown
First capital connect chose speakers
as diverse as transport minister
Norman Baker Mp and former champion
boxer Billy Schwer to talk to an invited
audience at the launch of its first customer
service apprenticeship scheme.
Five apprentices had won their places
on the scheme that had 266 applicants
and was launched in meeting rooms at
Moorgate, city of London, in August.
The 12-month course will lead to an
NVQ Level Two in customer service and
business administration.
Fcc managing director Neal Lawson
explained his company had engaged with
schools, colleges and job centres in areas
on its network.
He told the audience: ‘we pride
ourselves in working with communities
across our network. This is a new scheme
in the training of customer services. It
also includes participating in the Duke of
Edinburgh Awards Scheme throughout
the 12 months.
‘There will be monitoring of the
apprentices every three months. I believe
in this scheme and that it will develop the
hopes of these people.’
Transport minister Norman Baker
Mp applauded the introduction of the
apprenticeship scheme, saying that it
was vitally needed in the modern railway
industry.
He said: ‘customer service is the key to
growth of the railways. It is not just about
putting money into tracks but a scheme
which encourages people onto trains. And
we want people on our trains! There are
more people using the trains now than at
any time since 1929.
‘Rail traffic continues to grow year on
year. people are choosing the train as a
preference and not as a last resort. This is
a growth industry and these apprentices
are coming in at the right time. I think it’s
going to be a great experience. Some 266
people applied, so I hope that Fcc will
expand the scheme.’
Now an international speaker and
performance coach, Billy Schwer was
former National Schoolboy boxing
champion in 1982 and 1983 before
turning professional in 1990. Between
then and 2001 he became IBO Light
welterweight champion; European Light
Heavyweight champion, commonwealth
Light Heavyweight champion and British
Lightweight champion.
The title of his talk, aimed principally
at the apprentices, was Box clever. He
spoke of his many disappointments at
losing vital fights but told of his strengths
to get to the top of his profession. He
illustrated this in seven parts. The first was
‘win or lose, you choose’ which dealt with
choosing a new way of life, number two
was ‘knock out fear, then ‘Fight for what
you want’.
Number four was ‘You are only as
good as your next fight’, five was all about
looking for a new approach and titled ‘Jab
and move’, six was ‘Take it on the chin’ and
seven was ‘Box clever’.
Another former boxer – Mickey
cantwell – was at the presentation,
sitting with the apprentices. The winning
candidates are craig Evans-Bird, from
Enfield, north London; Stacey Hawes,
from Stevenage, Hertfordshire; Daniel
Salemo, from Letchworth, Hertfordshire;
Terrell kilpatrick, from Huntingdon,
cambridgeshire; and Shaun Lennon from
Bedford.
Second phase of Samaritans rail suicides campaign begins
The second phase of a campaign to reduce suicides on the
GB rail network by 20 per cent over five years has just been
launched by a Samaritans/Network Rail partnership.
key to the partnership strategy is a nationwide public
awareness campaign: we’re In Your corner is designed to help
people working in suicide prevention to understand more about
working class men in their 30s, 40s and 50s deemed at greatest
risk, and to reach out to them.
when the first phase of the we’re in Your corner national
advertising campaign launched two years ago, the boxer image
was displayed at railway locations countrywide to increase
public awareness of Samaritans’ support services for people
struggling to cope.
The challenge with this year’s campaign was to find an image
or images similarly recognisable to – and respected among – the
target male audience. For the campaign to work, it was vital for
this target group to identify with the images.
Feedback from the railway industry influenced a decision to
produce three male images of differing ages, to reach a variety of
male audiences.
In-depth research by the Samaritans also sought to
understand the target group of men and discern the challenges
in developing a campaign to reach them.
It identified that most men think talking about their
problems feels like admitting defeat – that they can’t solve them
on their own – and that as men get older, they can get ground
down and their ‘fire’ goes out, replacing their internal rage with
a depressive belief that life won’t improve.
Typical comments from the research included: ‘Talking’s good
if you know how to do it and if you don’t know how to do it, it’s
hard’, and: ‘we’ve never
been a talking family…
talking’s not a big thing.
I don’t think we’ve ever
done it… there’s a block
there somewhere… you
just hold it in the back
of your mind somewhere
and it sort of goes way.
I didn’t talk about the
divorce – it’s always seen
as a sign of weakness isn’t
it?’
To help shape the
campaign, a series of
one-to-one in-depth
interviews, conducted
with men from the target
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In partnership with
audience to test a series
of new close-up images,
strongly identified that being able to see into the eyes of the
images was a way of connecting with them.
The findings highlighted the need to portray the ‘ordinary
man’ who seemed to be tough but ‘holding it together’ and
getting on with life – most importantly they must not appear
beaten, or as an object of pity.
Three different images that tested positively – a boxing
trainer, a soldier and a workman – will be appearing on
campaign posters at Network Rail locations and across the
country.
Whatever you’ve done.
Whatever life’s done to you.
Call Samaritans.
No pressure.
No judgement.
We’re here for you.
PagE 6 OCTOBER 2012