Transport Managers need a greater level of support in attaining competence, believes Beverley Bell, founder and Chief Executive of Beverley Bell Consulting and Training, which is setting up a new association for the profession.
The business last month announced the Transport Manager Hub to provide support, tools and peer advice to Transport Managers and their staff, help them stay up to date with compliance, and represent their interests.
Beverley Bell Consulting and Training has worked with fellow consultancy and training company Flagship Partners to bring about what the two businesses believe is one of a kind.
“I don’t think there is a creditable association for Transport Managers,” says Ms Bell, a former Senior Traffic Commissioner. “We have trade associations, we have professional membership associations, but they are quite broad and I don’t think there is anyone to cater just for Transport Managers.”
Although HGV dominates the market in terms of volume, Beverley Bell Consulting and Training is keen to stress coach and bus will be well represented by the soon-to-be-launched initiative.
“It doesn’t matter whether they’re goods or PSV, it’s the same skills,” says Ms Bell. “We wanted to create something that could support them, somewhere they could go for advice.”
In unveiling the Transport Manager Hub at Beverley Bell Consulting and Training’s new London office, the issue of the difference between knowledge gained within Transport Manager CPC and the practicalities of the job was repeatedly highlighted.
Managing Director Alison Moriarty adds: “For a long time, I’ve thought there’s been a real lack of support when you come out [of training]. You’ve got some book knowledge, but what you’re not is a practitioner able to go in and actually do the role. You’ve got a lot of knowledge, but to actually go in and run it is very different.”
Key to the concept will be an online hub where information can be gained from experienced Transport Managers. Ms Moriarty, a former Risk Director for Arriva Bus, says: “We’re going to build a community of people where no question is stupid and you’re not afraid to ask it. It’s so important because you do think, ‘I’m qualified, I should know this.’
“I ran a big team of Transport Managers and people think, ‘I’ll get qualified and go into the industry and work’, and then [there are some] people who end up in a Public Inquiry or preliminary hearing because they haven’t understood the enormity and complexity of the role.
“And who do you turn to to ask those questions? Part of it is that community. There are some online forums, but you’ll ask a question and you might get 10 different answers. We want to be a definitive voice for the market.”
Pete Rushmer, Chief Executive of Flagship Partners, adds: “I think there’s an element of psychological safety that’s lacking in the industry sometimes, where people who are learning and developing have the opportunity to say, ‘I don’t know’. As an industry we have lots of training, there’s lots of knowledge out there, but knowledge is only potential power. The application of knowledge is power.”
Beverley Bell Consulting and Training, which already has offices in Newport on the Isle of Wight, and Chorley, will use its new Westminster base for training and meeting clients.
The business also announced recently that it had appointed Laura Thomas, a former Deputy Traffic Commissioner, as Director of Risk and Compliance. Meanwhile, Ms Moriarty has also added the role of Director of Risk and Operations.
