HoverCare - Accessibility Training Initiative by Hovertravel

Introduction

First ever accessibility training on hovercraft launches new accessibility initiative...

Main Item

Hovertravel is announcing a major new initiative aiming at improving accessibility. Called HoverCare, this initiative starts with the world's first accessibility training session on a passenger hovercraft. Hovertravel staff will undergo training from the Barclays Accessibility Team, which will include the opportunity to experience what it feels like to have limited mobility, sight issues and hearing problems by wearing a specially designed bodysuit and other simulation equipment.

Neil Chapman, Managing Director, Hovertravel, explains:

"We are delighted to launch HoverCare with our Accessibility Month and to be able to start by collaborating with Barclays on this innovative training session. Hovertravel is a sharing, collaborative, helpful organisation that is working to make the communities it works in more accessible to all. We want to use all the knowledge and experience we can find to keep learning and Hovertravel is committed to developing and sharing best practice as this initiative evolves. "

The suit adds weight to simulate an age increase of 30-40 years on the wearer and through a variety of additional modules can cause trembling of the hands, common visual disorders, an unsteady gait, restricted movement of knees, loss of hearing and unilateral paralysis. By inducing physical restrictions such as head mobility, joint stiffness, loss of strength, reduced grip and less coordination, wearers will feel these restriction for themselves, increase their empathy and gain a greater understanding of how to provide the best possible Hovertravel experience.

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Kathryn Townsend, Head of Customer & Client Accessibility, Barclays, adds:

"The launch of HoverCare is a fantastic testament to the importance that Hovertravel is placing on supporting older and disabled customers and we are proud to work with them on this initiative. Barclays has firm aspirations to be the most accessible and inclusive FTSE 100 organisation, so for us it is about how we can make access to our business and workplace easier for everyone. The training and simulation experience, which was initially developed to educate Barclays branch colleagues, is yet another example of how we can better understand the needs of our customers."

As well as the staff training, Hovertravel has also used the start of its Accessibility Month to announce the appointment of three Accessibility Champions: Andy Parnell, Gaz Bloomfield and Neil Chapman. The Accessibility Champions will be responsible for embedding accessibility into the company by assessing access provision and promoting equality and diversity. In turn, enhanced awareness and best practice will be further communicated throughout Hovertravel by the appointment of Accessibility Ambassadors in each team.

Hovertravel will be collaborating, as part of its Accessibility Month, with community interest group, Isle Access, and UK Charity, Tourism for All. Members of Isle Access will be offering assistance and working at Hovertravel on shifts during the next few weeks. Also, as they travel with Hovertravel they have offered to create short films of their experiences to provide invaluable insight from their different perspectives. Tourism for All has developed an online disability awareness training programme which will be mandatory for all Hovertravel employees.

Update: Hovertravel Adds Next Level to Hovercare Initiative

(September 10th, 2018)

Hovertravel is celebrating the anniversary of the highly regarded HoverCare initiative by announcing major enhancements to its customer assistance provision. HoverCare was launched last September with the first ever age simulation training on a hovercraft, in conjunction with Barclays Accessibility Team.

"The response to HoverCare over the past year has been extremely positive," explains Loretta Lale, Head of Commercial at Hovertravel, "This initiative was originally planned to bring all our customer assistance provisions under one banner and strengthen our skills base for persons of reduced mobility. We are now adding the next level of training and looking to learn from how other organisations are upskilling their workforces."

Hovertravel is training its staff to understand and appreciate a broad range of issues including autism, loss of sight, loss of hearing and dementia awareness. With help from leading experts in each of these fields, the teams at Hovertravel are becoming more skilled in providing meaningful assistance to a broader range of customers. Hovertravel is working with specialist trainers from a diverse set of organisations such as Edinburgh Airport, Medina School's Makaton training, Admiral Nurses, Dementia UK and the Guide Dogs for Blind, seeking insights into best practice as it is applied as well as learning the fundamental principles.

In addition to this internal tuition programme, Hovertravel is planning a series of themed coffee mornings to give customers the opportunity to see the HoverCare initiative in action and to familiarise themselves with the terminals.

Loretta continues, "With our staff training underway, we wanted to dedicate a series of morning sessions to customers, so they can ask questions, explore the facilities at the terminals and learn how Hovertravel can make their journey as straightforward as possible."

The two-hour planned coffee morning sessions will run between 10am and 12noon and planned for the following dates:

• Wednesday 19th Sept - Autism Awareness
• Thursday 18th Oct - Support for Sight
• Monday 19th November - Support for Hearing
• Wednesday 5th December - Dementia awareness

Although there is a theme for each event, all are welcome to attend any dates and if you cannot attend a specific date, please come along to one of the other sessions.

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There is more information on HoverCare on the Hovertravel website: www.hovertravel.co.uk/accessibility-information.php

Attribution/Source(s):

This quality-reviewed publication was selected for publishing by the editors of Disabled World due to its significant relevance to the disability community. Originally authored by Hovertravel, and published on 2017/09/29 (Edit Update: 2018/09/10), the content may have been edited for style, clarity, or brevity. For further details or clarifications, Hovertravel can be contacted at hovertravel.co.uk. NOTE: Disabled World does not provide any warranties or endorsements related to this article.

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