A day in the life of an employability trainer

by Danny Fontaine

I start the day with a bowl of tasty and healthy homemade granola to store up the necessary energy to get the brain cells going, then it’s off in the car for a drive to the training location, whilst listening to my favourite tracks on Spotify, to deliver today’s session to a group of enthusiastic men and women who are looking forward to gaining their TTMBC (Temporary Traffic Management Basic Course), T1/T2 tickets, gaining knowledge of the industry and improving their employability skills.

The first task is to set out the room in a layout that will allow everyone to be included in today’s activities, sometimes the room layout is appropriate upon arrival, but on some days adjustments need to be made, this is one of the challenges that I am familiar with through the years of experience in delivering training courses throughout Birmingham. I am careful to ensure that the candidates who require additional support are provided with the appropriate learning aids to support them with their learning. I then set up the computers ready for one of the tasks that I will be setting for the group later.

I then greet each candidate enquiring about their welfare and their evening, not in an intrusive way but with genuine interest. I start the session like I start all the sessions with a recap of the previous day’s key learning points, I am a firm believer in this approach to teaching having witnessed the benefits to my learners over the years. The candidates always enjoy the recaps because they reinforce their learning and this allows them to ask questions to gain further knowledge on the topic that they may not have thought to ask the day before.

Mobile work / Short Duration Works

In this session, I explain the type of work classified as short duration and the kind of temporary traffic management site setup that adequately protects the contractors, and keeps drivers safe and the traffic flowing. I then explain how to safely set up a site that facilitates mobile working using the Red Book to highlight the legal requirements that all traffic management operatives have to work to.

Traffic Control Methods

Continuing using the Red Book, I move on to the next topic of Traffic Control, explaining the difference between Shuttle working and Two Way working using physical demonstrations to get the point across, I use “Pit Stops” which are pauses in the session to check each learner’s understanding before I move onto the next segment of the topic.

Lunch

I put the group on a 30-minute lunch break, I stayed around to speak to some of the candidates who may have queries relating to the content covered earlier or to just chat about life, sport, and politics in a non-judgmental way often interjecting appropriate humour.

Setting Out a Site

I put the learners into pairs, I use my knowledge of the learners' learning styles, abilities, and personalities to create the best pairings. The candidates now have an opportunity to put their newfound knowledge to the test by completing the setting out site task on the computer by placing cones, signs, barriers, and other traffic management equipment in the right sequence and positions. This task brings out the competitiveness in some candidates who like finishing first others are more focused on accuracy. I check each layout and provide support and guidance to make sure that every candidate has completed the task correctly and knows the function of each piece of equipment and the relevance of its location on the site.

Health and wellbeing

I changed the focus for the final session of the day to health and wellbeing. I start this session with the 6 aspects of health and well-being using my employability skills and teaching experience to contextualise each aspect to their employability. I encourage every candidate to reflect on their health and well-being and identify steps they can take to improve their general welfare. For the final part of this session, I focus on mental health and explain how traffic management companies are currently running campaigns to improve the mental health of individuals in the industry.

After Session Reflections

The session has come to an end and the learners have started to go home. I offer support to any learner who may need help with any of the topics covered today. After all the candidates have left I reflect on the session and make notes on how I can improve the session the next time I deliver it and on what information I will revisit with the group tomorrow. My goal for each session is to make sure that every candidate has a positive, enjoyable, and productive learning experience.