Happy to help!
During my time as a PCS Union Learning Rep, there have been many success stories, but none more than Stuart Andrews, Branch Chair of PCS South Humber and National Health and Safety Rep for CCD.
Stuart was interested in skills for life and asked if I could help.
I thought this would be an excellent opportunity for Stuart find out more about the role of a ulr role and something he could take back to the Branch Education Committee.
What followed as a result of this initial learner interview is amazing. I feel very proud of Stuart, for what he has achieved and very privileged to have played a part. This is Stuart’s story……
I have always been disappointed with school results in maths and English. Whilst this has never really caused me any problems, I have always wanted qualifications that reflect my skills development since leaving school. So I approached Louise, my ulr, to find out if she could help me.
During our interview, Louise asked what other skills and qualifications I had, and then arranged for me to take an assessment with a local provider. I went on to do the national tests in both literacy and numeracy and passed with flying colours.
That was the end of the story as far as I was concerned…. Or so I thought!
During our interview, I told Louise I was a full licence holder in amateur radio, passing an exam at an A-level equivalent to demonstrate theoretical and practical understanding of transmission and reception, along with a raft of other areas such as safety, propagation, licence conditions and other technical areas. But what I didn’t know was that Louise had been working behind the scenes to find me a development opportunity.
In March this year, I received an email from the Lincs FM Group, a group responsible for around half a dozen broadcast stations across Lincolnshire and much of the Midlands. I was put in touch with the station’s engineering team, who told me they would be setting up a three day Restricted Service Licence station to cover one of the major events in Lincolnshire – the Lincolnshire Show and was asked by the station’s principle engineer, if I would like to assist with the RSL.
I met Andy, the engineer for the event, two days before the showground would be hosting the event, and one day before transmissions commenced. The rented portable studio had been delivered as a shell, and it was our job to kit it out for transmission. We started by installing a desk, unpacking the computer which contained the control software, play lists, music and commercials. We then wired up the desk with a mixer, microphones for the presenter and guest, and prepared to link it with the transmission equipment and ISDN links for news headlines.
We set up the transmitting aerial and microwave receiving aerial with the tower lowered. Then the Motorola team winched it into place at a height of around 25 metres. Then the microwave link was activated and the transmitter was ready. The ‘RDS’ system was set up, so as soon as the magical button was flicked, the car radio in the engineer’s car came to life and ‘LincShow’ flashed up on the RDS display. This was hugely satisfying. The day was concluded by carrying out power measurements around the site and ensuring the equipment could be shut down quickly in the event of an emergency.
This has been a great experience, and to put my amateur licence skills into use within a commercial environment is very rewarding. I would never have considered approaching commercial radio stations myself, and had it not been for Louise, this would not have happened. I had no idea a ULR would get involved in this area of work…but I’m glad she did!
