Richard Turner - **HAS LEFT**

Said the following about Virgin Trains West Coast Talent Academy:

“The training team at the West Coast Talent Academy consists of 3 trainers responsible for front-line grades, 2 management and leadership experts responsible for developing leadership capacity, and 2 personnel providing administrative support. A dedicated quality manager assists in ensuring programmes are adding value to the company and industry.

In 2016 the team made the brave decision to try to become an apprenticeship provider in anticipation of the 2017 levy. For a company of Virgin's size and reputation, being able to deliver apprenticeships was a no-brainer, but the team - many of whom were recruited from the frontline - had very little experience in developing formal government-funded learning programmes. Due to their efforts, adaptability, resilience, and ambition, Virgin Trains became one of just two Train Operating Companies to enter the government's Register of Apprenticeship Training Organisations in 2017.

The team started with extremely limited infrastructure to deliver an apprenticeship standard. Over the course of the year, they built from scratch an entry-level learning programme in accordance with one of the new trailblazer standards. This included ensuring learning was evidenced effectively, building mechanisms to ensure students were adequately supported such as testing for dyslexia and learning needs, building a programme structure that tackled both the soft-skills and technical skills required by the company and the apprenticeship standards, building quality management processes such as producing Self Assessment Reports and robust performance management for trainers, tracking student progress, and tracking the impact on learners and their abilities on the job. It involved extensive CPD for all trainers, all of whom now hold a minimum of a Level 3 Certificate in Education. The team also populated an entire LMS from scratch, which today has been adopted by their Safety & Operations counterparts to assess Safety Critical competencies. This adoption of digital technology by the Safety & Operations team when it comes to training - for an industry typically traditional and robust in safety practices - was evidence that the training team had built something that truly added value to the organisation.

To have built this from scratch was a huge effort, but the positive impact that it has had on learners is the real achievement. The Talent Academy rates confidence levels its learners. In December 2016 learners typically scored 60-70. In July 2017, learner confidence soared to 100 (i.e. 100% of all learners would recommend their training programme to others outside of the industry). For all learners to tell their friends and family that they should "join the railway industry because the training and apprenticeship opportunities" is exactly what the industry needs right now to attract young people into an ageing industry.

In addition to this Virgin Trains rewards high performance using an electronic "credits" system. Data shows that those on a learning programme with the Talent Academy receive reward and recognition every 3.8 weeks verses every 5.3 weeks for those who aren't. Line-managers also score an average of 7.7/10 when asked "how confident are you that your learners are high performing in relation to your team?"

The aim of the training team is not to develop technical skill alone. The aim is to create well-rounded individuals who are confident and who will progress in the future. The team runs teambuilding events, basic leadership classes, feedback sessions, and even basic IT, Maths, and English skills for all its students regardless of grade. Student confidence is nurtured throughout. Catering staff, for instance, receive full hospitality and catering training (i.e. they can cook!) - requiring of the student an immense amount of skill and confidence in an industry which is typically migrating "catering" to trolley services. This is reflective of the level of expectation the training team has of its students.

None of the above would have been possible without the efforts of the team. This team started on the frontline, but today it operates like a high performing adult college.“