Burnley taxi drivers gain safety training at specialist Themis sessions

Themis have worked together with Burnley Borough Council and Lancashire Police to provide specialised training for Burnley’s taxi drivers to raise awareness of important Safeguarding issues.

The course, led by Themis and Burnley College safeguarding and prevent manager and trainer Janet Crossley, is a positive look at how drivers can quickly identify and aid individuals who may be in vulnerable situations and also help to keep themselves safe.

More than 200 taxi drivers have been trained so far in the programme, which hopes to reach every private hire and hackney carriage driver in the Burnley Borough district. The course has been commissioned by Burnley Borough Council who have underlined its importance by paying for each driver’s training until the end of the year.

The training offers a huge benefit to the taxi drivers, providing them with the knowledge and understanding to ensure the ongoing safety and wellbeing of their passengers, especially as their busiest time of year approaches. As a result of the positive experience the drivers have had, many have booked on to additional Themis training in Health and Safety to further boost their skills.

The chair of Burnley Private Hire Association Mohammed Arif said: “This training course has been important to help the vulnerable in our area and to raise awareness of Safeguarding amongst our drivers and everyone who completed the training had found it to be a useful and interesting course.” Janet Crossley said: “Everyone has a role to play in promoting safeguarding, safety and wellbeing. Due to the nature of their job, taxi drivers can find themselves in situations where they are with young people and vulnerable adults who could be in need of help. Every taxi driver enrolled on this specialist course has been enthusiastic and ready to learn about these important issues. The feedback we have received from candidates who have completed the course has been overwhelmingly positive, with all participants feeling that the training has proven useful to them.”