The Young Voices project aims to help make a career in the service attractive young people reports Roshni Ray
Employees taking part in The Young Voices (Credit – London Fire Brigade)
London’s fire service is championing a new project to engage young members of staff and help to shape the future of the Brigade.
The London Fire Brigade initiative, called Young Voices, is part of a drive to make the fire service an attractive career for young colleagues.
Launched in partnership with Entrepreneurs in Action (EiA), Young Voices aims to better understand the unique perspectives and ideas of employees aged 18-27 to discover fresh insights and help create new solutions. In fact, The Brigade was recently ranked 62nd in the Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers, the only fire and rescue service to make the list.
Through discussion forums and workshops, the project enables young colleagues to provide feedback on their employment experiences and develop ideas about career development and ways of working.
At the end of the project, participants presented their ideas to London Fire Commissioner Jonathan Smith and other senior leaders.
Smith said: “London Fire Brigade is a great organisation that our employees are proud to work for, but it’s vital that young colleagues feel heard and valued.
“The insights that our Young Voices provided have been unique and creative. Engaging with them has proven to me that the future of the Brigade is in safe hands and their work will help us to create positive career experiences for everyone at London Fire Brigade.
“If you are starting your career, London Fire Brigade offers qualifications and development, a sense of belonging and the opportunity to contribute to the safety of Londoners.”
Derek Browne, EiA CEO and former Merrill Lynch Private Banking partner said: “Traditional employee engagement surveys capture opinions, but our ‘ICAN’ methodology enables young employees to develop practical solutions and recommendations that senior leaders can implement”.
Recently the Brigade expanded its firefighter apprenticeship to include the pilot of a Level 5 coaching professional apprenticeship and Level 3 accounts assistant apprenticeship.
Sponsored fire engineering degrees is another qualification offered by the Brigade, alongside professional development courses and memberships to professional organisations.
The Brigade also offers 10 leadership development programmes through its leadership academy.
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