The relationship that has developed between Care Training East Midlands (CTEM) and Nottingham City Transport (NCT) has been one of innovation and flexibility for the employees of NCT as well as the unemployed population of Nottingham.

Through Train to Gain and Skills for Jobs, CTEM has enabled the development of an organisation central to the transportation industry and essentially the running of Nottingham as a city.

NCT recognised the benefits straight away of working with CTEM. Chris Tyers, from NCT, enjoyed the way the proposal was put across. NCT wanted to make sure they were making the right decision when partnering with a new training organisation. The honesty and direct way in which business was conducted with CTEM was really appreciated by NCT.

Train to Gain

The partnership was established in March 2008 through Nick Woodrow, Employer Response Manager at CTEM. Initially, CTEM was the subcontract manager for Train to Gain funding for NVQ (National Vocational Qualification) Level 2s in Passenger Carrying Vehicle Driving. This allowed NCT to spend more time coordinating the training for the 44 bus drivers enlisted on the qualification, while CTEM managed the funding on their behalf.

It did not stop there. CTEM went on to provide staff in other departments with qualifications crucial to the progression of the organisation, such as Literacy, numeracy and Business & Administration NVQs. This vocational training provides the opportunity for current staff to undertake qualifications in their job role to increase their skills; it is also known to increase staff retention.

Since the partnership started there has been a change in the way Train to Gain pay providers. NCT felt that the changeover was made easy thanks to the Information, Advice and Guidance (IAG) service CTEM offers, through clear presentation and explanation of the changes.

The IAG sessions have also proven a useful opportunity for NCT staff. According to Chris it has encouraged employees to “buy into” the training and staff were enticed to discuss what they want to do to aid their development and achievements.

Skills for Jobs
Progression to NCT

Following on from this, CTEM recognised a gap in the recruitment market for NCT. Therefore CTEM was able to provide job-ready candidates for interviews through it's pre-employment programmes. This saved time for NCT in recruitment and prevented wasted interview and assessment time.

NCT issued CTEM with an agenda of the compulsory requirements for applicants for the position of a bus driver for NCT. From this CTEM developed a selection of courses for individuals to undertake in order to prepare them for a job with NCT. This proves CTEM is an employer-led organisation, providing the courses to tailor the needs of the employer.

Through IAG sessions the candidates are supported in choosing the courses most relevant to their individual needs to make them work ready and prepared for an interview with NCT. The candidate can participate in as many courses as they need for as long as required. So, not only do CTEM shape courses to the employer they are also shaped to individual needs.

It doesn’t just stop there. CTEM are about to embark on on-site training in Literacy and numeracy for those that may not have completed the qualifications or wish to renew their skills.

Overall Chris feels CTEM “does exactly as it says on the tin. The company is efficient, honest and extremely well organised.”

In summary, starting from a small partnership (with little intervention from CTEM) the relationship has developed to providing other provisions that have benefited a variety of people across the organisation, and involve different levels of intervention.

The ongoing relationship between CTEM and NCT reflects the flexibility of employer led, further education organisations such as CTEM. It has allowed innovation in training for NCT staff as well as support and guidance for the unemployed population of Nottingham to get back into work.

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