Up to Speed Training & Assessment

Highlighting best practice as a representative in The Parliamentary Review

The ability to listen and learn from one another has always been vital in parliament, in business and in most aspects of daily life. But at this particular moment in time, as national and global events continue to reiterate, it is uncommonly crucial that we forge new channels of communication and reinforce existing ones. The following article from Up to Speed Training & Assessment is an attempt to do just that. We would welcome your thoughts on this or any other Parliamentary Review article.

www.utstraining.co.uk

13UP TO SPEED TRAINING & ASSESSMENT |

BEST PRACTICE REPRESENTATIVE 2019

Managing Director AdrianPulham

We train across a number

of skill disciplines for the

highways sector

Now approaching its tenth year of trading, with a history

of steady year-on-year growth, Up To Speed Training

& Assessment Ltd was established in 2009 by current

Managing Director Adrian Pulham. It was born out of a reaction

to the sometimes-poor service provision he experienced as a

health, safety, environment and quality manager in the civil

engineering and construction industry. Adrian elaborates and

tells

The Parliamentary Review

what makes Up To Speed a

proactive, sustainable training provider.

While working in the highways sector with a responsibility for a 90-person

workforce, I recognised that sourcing quality training that delivered the desired

business objectives and support was becoming increasingly difficult. The provision

simply wasn’t there – so, ten years ago, I took the leap to begin supplying it myself.

The state of British highways

Every day, the majority of us use the public highway, whether it be in a motor

vehicle, on a bicycle or walking on the pavements. We expect these to be suitably

maintained, safe and free from congestion to allow undisrupted journeys.

A combination of a continuously increasing population, more vehicles on the road

than ever and serious environmental change, however, is resulting in our highways

becoming more worn more quickly. This has been well publicised in the media with

the ongoing issues of potholes, degraded carriageways and increased congestion

causing unwanted delays.

FACTS ABOUT

UP TO SPEED TRAINING &

ASSESSMENT

»Managing Director:

AdrianPulham

»Established in 2009

»Based in Birmingham

»Services: Training for the

highways sector

»No. of employees: 7 directly,

with 16 subcontractors

»Head office near Gravelly Hill

Interchange, also known as

“Spaghetti Junction”, one

of the UK’s greatest civil

engineering achievements

»Leading National Highways

Sector Scheme 12 training

provider

»www.utstraining.co.uk

Up To Speed Training

& Assessment

THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW

Highlighting best practice

14 | UP TO SPEED TRAINING & ASSESSMENT

The general public, however, expect the

roads that are maintained on their tax

money to be fit for purpose and safe.

Meeting public demand –

making our roads safer

To achieve this, the entire industry

is fighting a continuous battle to

meet public expectations up and

down the UK. Although this is led by

government-appointed departments,

local authorities and organisations such

as Highways England, it cannot be

won alone.

They require the expertise and efforts

of a massive network of specialist

contractors, civil engineers and

subcontractors to work tirelessly, often

in high-risk situations, during unsociable

hours and at all times of the year.

To ensure they’re appropriately

equipped to carry out this work, the

government has National Highways

Sector Schemes: certifications for

working on British highways. Across 20

distinct programmes – at the time of

writing – these schemes cover activities

ranging from fencing, landscaping

and vehicle safety restraints to

road surfacing, marking and traffic

management.

These schemes ensure that work is

carried out to the highest standards

of professionalism by properly trained

staff while also emphasising the

importance of health and safety.

How did we get involved?

Initially, we focused on providing

training in National Highways Sector

Scheme 12, which covered temporary

traffic management operations: the

provision of temporary roadworks to

provide physical segregation between

workers and the travelling public,

ensuring minimum risk for all parties

involved.

Through further consultation, however,

we have grown through diversification

into other areas of the highways

sector and have incorporated other

generic and specific skills required

by highways workers. We now offer

training in National Highways Sector

Scheme 10B for permanent vehicle

restraint systems, first aid, health and

safety, construction and “rural skills”,

which covers the maintenance of

embankments and verges near roads

and pavements.

We have developed a reputation

throughout the industry for our

outstanding focus on safety and

professionalism. Consequently,

we have been commissioned by

some of the country’s largest traffic

management specialists to produce

tailored, specialist training packages

that meet the specific needs of the

client, which may well not be otherwise

covered by an NHSS certification.

A stark change in recruitment

Historically, the recruitment process

for the industry was carried out over

a beer in a pub, or simply by knowing

someone else who worked on the

roads. In modern times, however,

with legislative changes demanding

it, we’ve had to move towards a

We are a leading NHSS

12 training provider

The entire

industry is

fighting a

continuous

battle to meet

public

expectations

up and down

the UK

“

15UP TO SPEED TRAINING & ASSESSMENT |

BEST PRACTICE REPRESENTATIVE 2019

more formal and compliant recruiting

process across the sector.

All operatives now undertake extensive

training and assessment to ensure

they are trained to go out onto the

highways to complete the work

needed. Before they step onto a

road and work for the very first time,

training must be completed – and it

doesn’t stop there.

An ever-changing industry

with public importance

I am exasperated sometimes by the

public perception of roadworks as

being nothing more than a nuisance

– this is also, at times, exacerbated

by TV shows and media coverage.

The general public do need to

recognise that there’s always a

purpose for equipment on the roads,

and that we’re not trying to disrupt

people’sjourneys.

With new challenges on the roads

every day, the highways sector

never stands still, and to this end

continuously embraces the newest

innovations and technology on the

market. As a result, we are presently

developing “live” VR environments

which simulate high-risk environments

and allow learners to experience

them in the safety and security of a

trainingroom.

Developing a certified

apprenticeship scheme

Even though the highways sector

is dedicated to enhancing and

maintaining infrastructure not only for

the public but also for the economic

benefit of the country, it receives

absolutely no support in funded

training of any sort – all training is

paid for by the contractors completing

thework.

Unlike other areas of the construction

and civil engineering sector, there is

no official highways apprenticeship

scheme. Although stakeholders have

come together in the past to try to

create such an approved programme,

as of yet, dishonest investors and a

lack of external support have meant

that this is still in development. Going

forward, however, it’s something we

really do think is necessary.

Continuing to deliver across

the UK

From our well-connected head office in

Birmingham and other training venues

in both the north and the south, we

provide training to contractors up

and down the country. Almost ten

years on, we have firmly established

ourselves as one of the country’s

leading NHSS 12 training providers,

and the future looks bright.

Over the next few years, we want to

continue diversifying by offering more

and more schemes. We would also

like to see support from central and

local government in both changing the

public’s perception of roadworks and

making the highways sector a more

accessible and appealing career path

for younger people with vocational

skillsets to pursue.

We have

developed a

reputation

throughout the

industry for our

outstanding

focus on safety

and

professionalism

“

The general public’s

perception of the

highways sector needs

to improve

www.utstraining.co.uk

This article was sponsored by Up to Speed Training & Assessment. The Parliamentary Review is wholly funded by the representatives who write for it.