Spring has arrived and for individuals seeking to improve their knowledge, or companies and local authorities who want to demonstrate their commitment to a well-trained and highly qualified workforce, the new parking courses being developed to target management and leadership levels within the profession will be a welcome addition to the training landscape.

Designed through collaboration between Alpha Parking, the largest independent UK parking training providers, and City and Guilds, the internationally recognised accrediting body, these courses will aim to raise the level of professionalism within the parking sector supervisor and management levels. They will provide the skills and knowledge needed to succeed in a variety of management roles throughout all areas of the parking industry, both public and private.

These could include: Parking Manager, Car Park Supervisor, Enforcement or Notice Processing Team Leader, Contract Manager and Debt Recovery Officer. A base of professional qualifications already exists in the parking sector and the City & Guilds Level 2 Parking Enforcement training and the Level 3 Notice Processing qualifications are well-established and industry recognised foundation courses for parking professionals. The addition of management level training will raise the game to a different level as they will provide practical training for those in, or aspiring to enter, parking focused leadership positions.

The courses will be classroom based and assessed via multi-choice exams. The first to be implemented is the “Parking Supervisor and Team Leader Course” which is relevant for all those involved, or wishing to be involved, in first line parking management. The course involves putting into context for these roles the impact of parking industry issues, such as parking legislation and traffic orders combined with management themes such as decision making.

THE PARKING HANDBOOK 2014

A few weeks ago, Alpha Parking joined forces with the London Borough of Hounslow to host a seminar called Spotlight on Parking.

One of the speakers was Dr Scott Le Vine, from the centre for transport studies at Imperial College London. His main point was that we would need to rethink how we managed our transport system in the future because of the changing behaviours of the population.

Scott’ s point was that more and more young people living in the big urban areas were not learning to drive. This indicated two things: firstly, that they were using other forms of transport; and secondly, that they might never learn to drive. The implications, as he pointed out, could be wide-reaching. Transport planners would need to consider meeting the needs of a population that relied on public transport and car-ownership might begin to decline.

Good parking practice

At a more prosaic level, Patrick Troy, the chief executive of the British Parking Association and Dr Kevin Golding-Williams from Living Streets, spoke passionately about the importance of good parking management on the high street. Patrick was particularly scathing about the government’s fixation on CCTV surveillance and its use in enforcement, arguing that there were wider issues to consider, such as a national ban on pavement parking and making the penalty charge notices across the UK more proportionate (currently it is cheaper to get a penalty charge than it is to buy a ticket in some cities).

Kevin also spoke about pavement parking and used some visuals to good effect to show how a car parked on a pavement could prove a dangerous obstruction for wheelchair users, parents with buggies or the visually-impaired.

Wanted: Well-trained staff

From my point of view, the seminar just re-emphasised how important it is that people working within the transport sector are well-trained. If the streets are being enforced by officers who know what they are looking for and how to enforce within the legislation, then motorists will know that they are being dealt with fairly.

Higher up the career ladder, if parking managers and street planners are able to appreciate the bigger picture and plan parking strategies effectively, then the whole of the population will benefit from a well-thought out transport plan.

The last speaker at Spotlight on Parking was Caroline Hamilton, the chief parking adjudicator for PATAS in London. She highlighted the need for civil enforcement officers to ensure that ticketing is done properly – a single mistake on a penalty charge notice can cost the local authority a lot of money and time in dealing with the subsequent appeal process.

What so impressed me about the messages that were emerging over the course of the seminar was how people from very diverse backgrounds and coming from very different sectors of the transport world are actually singing from a very similar song-sheet. The key considerations among thought leaders seem to be: keep traffic moving; make roads safe for all users; and aim for increasing levels of sustainability.

Parking Review Issue 264 | April 2014

Living Streets raised the problem of pavements at Spotlight on Parking.

Retailers over-emphasise the extent to which customers drive and the importance of parking, the pedestrian charity Living Streets told a gathering of local authority parking managers, organised by the London Borough of Hounslow and Alpha Parking.

Click here to read the full article

The Lincolnite | March 2014

It is very pleasing to see that Lincolnite, City of Lincoln’s local paper, has reported favourably on  this year’s car park review and recommendations by Alpha Parking. This year the review was extended to cover way-finding to the car parks and their ecological credentials.

Click here to read the Lincolnite article 

What impact does parking have on a local community?

‘Spotlight on Parking 2014’ — a half- day, free seminar being hosted at Hounslow Civic Centre in London on 4 March — will shine a light on this and other local parking issues.

The London Borough of Hounslow’s parking services department is joining forces with consultants Alpha Parking to host the invitation-only event, which will feature a number of high-profile speakers. These include: Dr Scott Le Vine, from the Centre of Transport Studies, Imperial College, who wrote the RAC report On the Move; Patrick Troy, chief executive of the British Parking Association; and Caroline Hamilton, London’s chief parking adjudicator.

They will give their views on some of the pressing issues facing the parking profession and the day’s proceedings will be overseen by Keith Banbury OBE, who is chairing the event.

Sachin Gupta — the youngest mayor of Hounslow to date — will also be at the seminar, as will Brendon Walsh, director of regeneration, economic development and the environment for Hounslow Borough Council. The seminar reflects the wide range of parties that are impacted by parking issues, including parking professionals, stakeholders in the parking profession — such as the Metropolitan Police and the RAC — and community groups.

Melanie Gadd, head of parking at Hounslow Borough Council, said: The idea behind the seminar is to acknowledge the impact of parking on every facet of the community.

It is also an opportunity for a wide range of people involved in parking issues to share views and to gain understanding and knowledge of current issues from a range of different perspectives.’

For further information and to apply for a place on the ‘Spotlight on Parking 2014’ seminar, telephone 020 7242 2567 or email parkingenquiries@aparking.co.uk. 

Alpha Parking is now working in partnership with City & Guilds to provide established training qualifications:

• Level 2 Parking Enforcement Officer

• Level 3 Notice Processing

The training landscape for parking enforcement officers and notice processing staff has been through a bit of an upheaval of late, but Alpha Parking will continue to operate alongside the internationally recognised education and training body, City & Guilds, to offer a full suite of parking qualifications.

Training provided by Alpha will continue to be part of the Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF) and accredited by OfQual —this applies to both the Level 2 Award for Parking Enforcement Officers and the Level 3 Award for Notice Processors.

The critical point about our qualifications are the style of delivery and assessment. It is something that we have given much thought to, because we want the content of our courses to reflect the needs of the learner —and that means no superfluous, generic information — and to allow assessment to be as effective and reliable as possible. That is why our qualifications are knowledge based, taught over a number of days in the classroom. The tutor then has control over what is taught and can supervise the learning process of each individual on the course. Mirroring this approach is the assessment procedure. Learning is measured via a multiple-choice exam for each unit. Quick to administer, the question and answer examination will assess the individual’s understanding of the legal and operational requirements necessary to fulfil their roles. By learning the skills and reinforcing this learning through correctly answering questions, the staff are able to demonstrate their ability to carry out the job to a satisfactory standard, City & Guilds has maintained its long-term relationship with Alpha Parking because it is keen to continue to supply accredited specialist parking training. Having built up the suite of qualifications over the past five years, it makes little sense for the vocational training providers to waste all that knowledge and experience. The new environment means the parking industry has a useful practical choice as to which form of training and assessment suits them best.

Alpha Parking has worked hard to develop a suite of parking qualifications that are relevant to the industry and are of the necessary standard. Working with City & Guilds is a best fit for Alpha Parking because it is an internationally recognised brand, which has developed a specialist knowledge of the requirements of the parking sector. This matches Alpha Parking’s own aspirations to extend its training to other global markets, and to share knowledge, expertise and best practice with parking operators from other countries.

Alpha Parking’s qualifications are aware of the legislation, so they in turn can pass the relevant information on to their team members. The course has been designed so that it meets these needs.

“By putting staff on the course the council demonstrates that we believe in investing in staff development, an important morale boost at a time that local authorities are still feeling the squeeze.”

The five-day course, which will take place in a central London venue, is run by Alpha Parking. It includes an introduction to parking specific team leading, problem recognised and verified by Ofqual, and under the Alpha Parking and City & Guilds offering, assessment takes place in the classroom and comprises a multi-choice examination for each module. We firmly believe that the best way to train staff is to make sure they are given the knowledge they require while they are in the classroom. This means that we are certain that they are getting the skill and information that they need to do the best job possible. Then we test that knowledge. The parking operator and the general public can clearly see that the parking enforcement officers and notice processing staff are well-trained and have the level of knowledge appropriate for their field of operation. This is by far the most effective, most convenient and, importantly in these times, the most cost-effective way of delivering that knowledge.

Alpha Parking also offers a suite of City & Guilds-accredited training that covers all sectors of the industry and the training is available across all regions of the UK. We have total faith in our method of delivery and believe our classroom training and multi-choice exam assessment approach, combined with the City & Guilds brand, are a choice that should be offered to the parking industry.

We would also stress that we are quite prepared to talk to any other training provider wanting to offer the qualifications, but they must be a City & Guilds certified centre and they must have met all the criteria necessary to meet the standards that City & Guilds has set.

Alpha Parking also offers supervisor and management training aimed at local authority parking managers and team leaders, as well as Traffic Order training, Level 2 training for Parking Enforcement on Private Land, NVQs and training in the use of ParkMap software. Parking professionals taking any of these courses will reach the City & Guilds quality standards.

People working in the parking sector now have two paths to qualifications. The existing City & Guilds qualifications will be provided in partnership with Alpha Parking, while an alternative set has been launched by the British Parking Association (BPA) in partnership with a new awarding body.

Alpha Parking is operating alongside City & Guilds to offer a full suite of parking qualifications as part of the Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF) and accredited by OfQual. Alpha will be providing both the Level 2 Award for Parking Enforcement Officers and the Level 3 Award for Notice Processors.

The BPA is now partnering with WAM ITAB (the Waste Management Industry Training and Advisory Board). Since 1 January, approved training centres have been able to offer two parking qualifications approved by Ofqual. These are a Level 2 Award for Parking Enforcement Officers, a qualification that has a specific focus on conflict management, and a Level 3 Award for Notice Processors, a qualification that provides essential training for office-based, information management and administrative roles.

Patrick Troy, chief executive of the BPA, added: ‘WAMITAB has the expertise to be our awarding organisation partner because for many years it has been developing qualifications for sectors that share the same challenges as the parking profession. The BPA, its membership and the parking profession can benefit greatly from WAMITAB’s experience.”

Chris James, chief executive of WAMITAB, said: “There is a clear convergence between the content of WAMITAB’s current qualifications and the parking profession in terms of conflict management, customer care, health and safety, management and leadership, together with soft skills such as literacy, numeracy and communication skills. In addition, there is a common requirement to meet the needs of the built environment and facilities management in areas such as pollution control and congestion management.”

While the BPA is working with WAMITAB, the partnership between City & Guilds qualifications and Alpha Parking will continue to provide Level 2 for civil enforcement officers and Level 3 for notice processors.Alpha Parking also offers additional accredited courses like Parking Supervisor and Management training, aimed at local authority parking managers and team leaders, as well as Traffic Order Training, NVQs and specialist training in the use of ParkMap software.

Penny Winder, director of Alpha Parking, said: “Working with City & Guilds is a best fit for Alpha Parking because it is an internationally recognised brand, which has developed a specialist knowledge of the requirements of the parking sector. That long-term relationship is something that we value and wish to continue and develop.”

City  &  Guilds remains committed to the parking sector, said Yolanda Peck, senior business manager at City & Guilds:

“Alpha Parking has been a City & Guilds training centre for nearly a decade,” she said, “so we know they are fully committed to providing high quality training and assessment services to all public and private sector parking suppliers. Specifically, City &Guilds has been supporting local authorities’ workforce development strategies for many years, across all occupational sectors, and parking remains high on our agenda.”

What impact does parking have on the local community? “Spotlight on Parking 2014”, a half day free seminar being hosted at Hounslow Civic Centre in central London this spring, will shine the light on this and other local parking issues.

The London Borough of Hounslow Parking Services Department is joining forces with parking consultants Alpha Parking Ltd to host the invitation only half-day event on 4th March.

“Spotlight on Parking 2014” will have a number of high profile speakers who will be giving their views on some of the pressing issues facing the parking profession. Explaining their points will be Dr Scott Le Vine from the Centre of Transport Studies, Imperial College, who wrote the RAC “On the Move” report; Patrick Troy, Chief Executive of the British Parking Association; and Caroline Hamilton, London’s Chief Parking Adjudicator. The day’s proceedings will be overseen by Keith Banbury OBE, who is chairing the event.

Hounslow’s Mayor, Sachin Gupta – the youngest ever Mayor of Hounslow – will be at the seminar as will Brendon Walsh, Director of Regeneration, Economic Development and the Environment for Hounslow Borough Council. The seminar reflects the wide range of parties impacted by parking issues including parking professionals, stakeholders in the parking profession, such as the Metropolitan Police and the RAC, and community groups.

Melanie Gadd is Head of Parking at Hounslow Borough Council. She said:

‘The idea behind the seminar is to acknowledge the impact of parking on every facet of the community. It is also an opportunity for a wide range of people involved in parking issues to share views and to gain understanding and knowledge of current issues from a range of different perspectives.’

Penny Winder, Director of Alpha Parking said:

‘We would like the seminar to be seen as an opportunity for those involved in parking – be it as a parking manager, a stakeholder or a community representative – to have a chance to listen to other perspectives and talk through their own issues in a supportive environment.’

For further information and to apply for a place on the “Spotlight on Parking 2014” seminar telephone 020 7242 2567 or email  parkingenquiries@aparking.co.uk.