Caren Alderwick

Said the following about Gavin Fisher:

“So, Gavin was a new appointment to XC at Cambridge recruited by the excellent Graeme Simms.

He was previously employed by the Post Office where he worked for 20-plus years. Both on the road delivering mail in rural Cambridge and as a Manager of depot sites... So, a skilled appointment. His move to XC saw him take a huge leap into a new work environment and a new challenge. Considering his long successful service with Royal Mail this is not a task to be taken lightly. Gavin spoke of the uncertainty of his previous employer Royal Mail and needed some reassurance that his new career with XC was going to be okay. He needn't of worried. Here I am today acknowledging his new role and achievements.

Gareth made the leap, and I'm delighted he did. We have an excellent individual with a proven work ethic and track record of leadership and commitment to deliver literally to his Customers. He walked so many miles delivering his Mail to his customers for so many years. He does the same delivering people - our customers to their destination. I told him on day one it's a uniform change, and rather than delivering to his customers, he can deliver his new customers their destinations!! Nearly the same job!!

So why did Gavin stand out? For me a huge commitment to change careers after 20 plus years in his previous job. A huge commitment to spend around 10 weeks away in Derby. This decision included a discussion with his wife and family.

We perhaps forget the impact this will have on the parent at home, the kids and Gavin too.. In the first 3 weeks of the course, there is a huge amount of information and learning, alongside the stress and anxiety of being away from home. Notwithstanding, the dynamics of 12 new colleagues in our pressure cooker environment. Especially as a new Safety Critical employee. Gavin's personality and people skills shone. He may have been out of his comfort zone in regard to his new role in the early days. But his commitment to learn, share, be self-reflective and self-effacing stood out for Andy and me quite quickly into his XC journey. His attention to detail in his work, and his peers stood out.

Again, it is all about the person. Throughout his Derby journey, Gavin's confidence began to grow and he began to show his maturity and previous team leadership skills. Even considering his journey, Gavin continued to support his peers both in and away from the classroom. I know that he was struggling with his home life and work-life balance and was missing his family. Gavin graduated from us with outstanding results demonstrating full competence and I'd like to say fully confident!!

So, what has happened since Gavin left us? Why am I acknowledging Gavin for this award...

Well, we have Safety Critical examples that can go wrong day to day. The majority of these discussions are just in case for example M1 Emergency Actions and this forms a very important part of the Rules and Customer Focus that is our course. Gavin dealt with Pass Comm activations whilst out on his experiential learning work. Great experience.

But the standout for me is that Gavin has had to deal with 2 very serious medical emergencies on his train. A medical emergency is never easy. We do cover these situations throughout our training and the preferred way to handle these critical incidents.

For a newly qualified Senior Conductor to manage one medical emergency is unusual, to be honest. However, to have 2 critical people emergencies within his probation period just goes to demonstrate the calibre of the person. The quality of Gavin Fisher. The quality of his recruitment, his training the quality of us!!!

Andy and I are totally in agreement with this nomination. Gavin's re-growth into a new career after 20 plus years of a previous career just goes to show his quality.

Gavin has re-visited the school to complete his apprenticeship and has talked to the preceding new starters about their new journey and the experiences he went through on his journey. He was candid about the challenges he had.“