BPA News WiP sponsor change The BPA would like to thank Marston Holdings for its generous sponsorship of the Women in Parking group during the groups first 18 months. Women In Parking was launched in September 2020 with our primary focus to help elevate women within the sector. This would not have been possible without the support from our very first sponsor, Marston Holdings, said Michelle Boshoff-Turner, BPA projects lead. We would like to say thank you to everyone at Marston Holdings for taking the time and energy to invest in our vision; their sponsorship was integral to our ability to bring this initiative to life. The BPA is pleased to announce that Conduent Transportation will be taking over sponsorship for the group from 1 April. Suicide prevention The BPA recently held a webinar looking at preventing suicide in car parks. This followed on from webinars held last year. Larry Cohen, a parking director from the US, shared his learnings from his work on suicide prevention, and then Tracey Wetton from NCP and Alan Woodison from Saba UK gave a UK perspective on measures they have taken in their parking facilities. Alexandra Close from the Zero Suicide Alliance offered advice on recognising the signs that someone may be considering suicide and how to talk to them. See bit.ly/PNMar22SP The Ernest Davies Award winning entry for 2021 is an article on preventing suicide: see pages 40-41. You can contact Samaritans 365 days a year for free on 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org or visit www.samaritans.org BPA Individual Members have access to CIC a confidential support system. To find out more, email membership@ britishparking.co.uk Updates and information from the BPA team Staff news The BPA is sad to say goodbye to Graham Chapman, who will be retiring at the end of this month after 14 years as a BPA area manager. Graham joined the BPA after a 32-year career in the Metropolitan Police, where he had spent time working on what is now the Designing Out Crime Initiative to prevent crime in the built environment. He was also involved in Park Mark when it started in 2004, assessing car parks for physical security measures. As a BPA area manager, his role has taken him to car parks throughout London and the South East, where he has given advice to many BPA members in order to make sure that car parks are low-crime places where the public feel safe. His ongoing working relationship with the police has meant he has also been able to advise operators and local authorities on combating new areas of crime, such as an increase in moped crime. Chas Cannon, BPA area manager for South West England and Wales, has worked with Graham for 14 years and was his line manager for the past nine. He said: Graham always goes above and beyond to help people. He is a great colleague, and we will miss him on the team, but wish him a long and happy retirement. Steve Clark, director of operations and business development, said: Graham is a real character with a cracking sense of humour, but a consummate professional nonetheless. I have loved working with Graham and he will certainly be missed. Meanwhile, Chas Cannon has decided to step down from his role as a senior area manager (SAM) but he will continue to be the area manager for South West of England and Wales. Area manager for the North East, Yorkshire and Humber Ryan Davey has taken on the role of SAM. Steve Clark said: I would like to thank Chas for all his efforts as a SAM and for his support for me personally. I was delighted to receive three applications from the area manager team for the position of SAM. They underwent a competitive recruitment process, and it was a close call, so well done to them all. However, Ryan was the successful candidate and I am so pleased to have him in post. The team and I wish him every success. National Careers Week The BPA is supporting National Careers Week (NCW) that takes place between 7-12 March 2022. The ethos behind NCW is Empowering positive change through careers education. NCW sets out to bridge the gap between education and the working world to help ensure that young people are given the insights and resources they need to make informed choices over their careers and their futures during pivotal moments of their education. As part of the initiative, NCW provides a platform for organisations to engage and inspire future generations with career opportunities available and showcase what a job within the company or the wider sector would be like. The BPA aims to support NCW by promoting the diverse career opportunities available within the parking sector, including stories from our members on the interesting and unexpected journeys their parking careers have taken them on, said Diana Pospisil, BPA digital media and a downloadable resource pack that will be available for schools and careers advisors and will also be included in the Careers Hub section of ParkingJobs.co.uk. If you would like to share the story of your parking career as part of NCW, then please get in touch: diana.p@britishparking.co.uk Find out more about NCW and how you can get involved at nationalcareersweek.com 44 britishparking.co.uk PN March 2022 pp44-45 BPA News.indd 44 22/02/2022 15:10