Media Centre

Coventry partnership puts training at top of the agenda

20 Feb 2008

Local bus operator, National Express Coventry (formally Travel Coventry) and the Transport and General Workers Union (UNITE), have joined together in an innovative partnership to provide individual learning opportunities for all National Express Coventry staff to improve and enhance their personal development.

National Express Coventry has transformed a suite of former offices in their city centre-based Ford Street depot into an impressive Learning Centre equipped with libraries of information and IT equipment.

The £15,000 facility, which was opened recently, will enable both employees and UNITE's member's to improve their personal skills and build on skills already possessed by working through IT-based, nationally recognised NVQ training modules and learning from regular team and one-to-one briefings on a range of transport-related and business subjects.

Bernard Delaney, National Express' Director Coventry said; "Our unique partnership with UNITE really will give our staff a great opportunity to improve and build on their life skills and transport-related knowledge. We already work closely with UNITE on a daily basis here in Coventry and the Training Centre, developed through feedback from our staff and our partners, will help us to continue to provide first-class bus services to the people of Coventry and the surrounding area. Like UNITE, we believe that personal and career development complements job-specific training very closely and we're keen to see the new training and information facility grow and prosper - helped also with regular input from the team at North Warwickshire and Hinckley College."

Bernard added; "Our aim here at National Express is to make travel simpler. A large part of helping us achieve this aim is to ensure that our staff have the training and skills needed to deliver the quality customer experience that our customers rightly expect."

• Unite is the largest union in the United Kingdom, with over two million members in the public and private sectors. Their official website can be accessed via www.amicustheunion.org.
• The Coventry Training Centre's facilities are available for 24-hour use for all National Express employees who are members of UNITE.

Stuart Henry Tel: (0121) 460 8420