PDS Manager honoured at Transport Planning Day

As well as the annual awards at TP Day TPS recognised the contribution from its outgoing PDS Manager, Christine Crossley. 

Christine had a career in transport planning in both private and public sectors but later moved into organising professional development and training for some of our largest consultancies.  Although she became PDS Operations Manager in 2016 she was a key author in creating the 2013 PDS structure and documentation (Version 3) which kick started the more focussed and practical approach that underlies the current scheme. 

As well as her work for the PDS, Christine made a major contribution to the creation of the two apprenticeships, technician and degree, as Chair of the employer Trailblazer group.  She had to tackle the challenge of creating consistency between Government requirements from the Institute for Apprentices and our own existing qualifications: PDS and TPP.  The pathways between them all is testament to her success in doing so. 

Introducing the award, TPS Skills Director Keith Buchan said:

“Working with Christine she embodied that British self effacing and modest approach but when she said “I may be wrong but….”  You knew then that she was going to gently take apart that left field idea you’d just had that you were convinced was the best thing since sliced bread.  Her great quality was that she would then come up with a different one that achieved exactly what you wanted but better.  The skills team will hugely miss all her brilliant work and guidance.” 

Christine has handed over the PDS management and mentor training to Paul Hanson, formerly of AECOM and PDS Manager when he was there.  She will continue to help develop the PDS running alongside the new degree apprenticeship from North East University.