Further to the latest news on TPS skills published earlier this month, the first web based meeting of the PDS Managers has been held and of course was strongly focussed on how best to navigate the current COVID-19 situation.  Managers felt that the TPS move to web based training and reviews had gone well, but they were acutely aware that furloughing did not necessarily make it easier to spend time on professional development for the individuals concerned.  Trainees who were furloughed might find their mentor was also – and many firms felt that mentoring risked breaking the rules of furlough.  If the mentors were not furloughed, they were even busier than usual. The same high pressure of work was true for trainees who weren’t furloughed.  Managers also expressed concern that trainees needed to be given space away from their screens, often they were based in environments at home that were not designed for such intense computer based work.  We all gained an extremely useful perspective on skills in general, and operating PDS in particular, in the current situation.

In this context, it was clear that after the furlough period, and while the economy was slowly coming to terms with longer term impacts, there would be further challenges. We discussed the TPS idea for a scheme which would allow continuity for trainees who found themselves unemployed as a result of any retrenchment in the industry.  The profession has experienced such peaks and troughs before and knows only too well the need to maintain and develop skills to avoid shortages in the future.  This idea was strongly supported and we will launch it as soon as possible and by the end of June at the latest.

Some further ideas were generated on web based learning and support including less formal drop in Q&A sessions and involving trainees who had recently completed PDS to give their own perspective on the scheme. The skills team will be working to try out these ideas through the summer.

TPS Skills Director Keith Buchan said:

“After the first immediate requirement to keep TPS skills fully functional has been met we need to reflect on what will happen in the next phase, and in particular how the unwinding of the furlough scheme impacts on us all.  We are working hard to play our part in supporting the transport planning profession through new initiatives which will be needed, as well as providing what is the industry standard scheme for professional development.  The views and ideas from our PDS Managers are invaluable in this process and we are grateful for their ongoing support.  We wish all our trainees, mentors and managers well and are committed to help them as much as we can through this difficult time.”