Rail Learning Centre to open at Edinburgh Waverley

RAIL LEARNING CENTRE TO OPEN AT EDINBURGH WAVERLEY

Friday 16 October 2009

ScotRail will open a Rail Learning Centre at Edinburgh Waverley station on Monday 19 October.

Karen Whitefield MSP, convener of the Education, Lifelong Learning and Culture Committee, will officially open the facility which encourages railway staff to expand their skills.
 
Other centres, also established in partnership with Rail Union Learning, are up and running at Ayr, Dumfries, Dundee, Inverness and Stirling stations and at two Glasgow depots, Yoker and Shields Road.

All focus on providing staff with a means to develop new skills and expand their knowledge. They offer a classroom environment suitable for individual study and have computer facilities and library books.
 
Courses are free and designed to be shift friendly. They range from literacy and numeracy to IT, foreign languages, cookery – and even sign language, aimed at helping customers who are hard of hearing. The voluntary pupils will be able to respond to hand signs such as “What time is the next train?” to “What platform does the train to Stirling leave from?”

Karen Whitefield said: “The old idea that we leave learning behind when we finish school or college is long gone – lifelong learning is here to stay, bringing real benefits for both workers and their employers.

“I would like to congratulate ScotRail and Rail Union Learning for successfully introducing learning opportunities in the workforce. There is no doubt that access to education and training is crucial in determining an individual’s life chances.”

Steve Montgomery, ScotRail’s managing director, said: “We are committed to helping employees and their families to access learning opportunities to develop new skills and expand on their knowledge.

“Staff are key to raising standards and broadening learning will have a positive impact on them as well as the company.”

Jim Baxter, Scottish Union Learning Fund project worker for ASLEF, said: “This is yet another great example of trade unions and employers working in partnership for the benefit of all workers. These centres break down the barriers to lifelong learning by helping us to deliver free and shift friendly learning in the workplace.”

Other guests included Kevin Lindsay, district organiser with ASLEF and Thomas Walker, development officer for Scottish Union Learning.

The opening marks the start of a week-long tour of the Scottish network by ScotRail directors on the fifth anniversary of FirstGroup being awarded the Scottish rail franchise.    

ScotRail last month was named Passenger Operator of the Year at the prestigious National Rail Awards – for the second year in a row.

The award recognised ScotRail’s record high customer satisfaction ratings and punctuality and reliability ratings; passenger growth of more than 20% in the last five years, and the largest expansion of services in the past decade.
 

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Iain Wilson: 0141 335 4565