In the hustle and bustle of daily work life, learning can often take a back seat. Learning at Work Week aims to change this by building learning cultures at work and spotlighting the importance of continual learning and development.

This year, we’re celebrating the evolution of our reverse mentoring programme into a groundbreaking initiative for frontline employees, helping them to take their first steps into management.

Reverse mentoring

Our reverse mentoring programme began with a simple concept: pairing our senior leaders with colleagues from diverse backgrounds. The aim? To enable our senior leaders to better understand the talents and experiences of their colleagues, as well as gain insight into the various challenges across the organisation.

When customer host Darnell Casimir was paired with HR director Oli Gant, he shared that he felt the business could be doing more to support frontline colleagues to progress. Oli went away with this feedback and responded with the Untapped Talent programme.

Untapping talent

Untapped Talent was launched as a six-month programme in September 2024, giving colleagues a mix of hands-on experience and in-class modules on leadership qualities, such as delegation: “There’s so much value in what we’re learning, which I wouldn’t be getting otherwise,” explains Darnell. “I’ve learned that when delegating, I need to make sure everyone is clear on the whole picture and the end result, and I need to know why it’s important to praise colleagues and fail as a team when things go wrong.”

Effective communication is also a key focus in the programme as traincare colleague, Mihaela Mirica, explains: “I’ve been learning about effective communication and emotional intelligence, and I’m already applying these skills in my daily life.”

For some participants, the programme didn’t just help them to learn new skills but also unlock ones they didn’t even realise they had: “The course made me realise how many skills I already had and what’s needed to move into management roles,” says Dudu Miah, sales assistant. “I’d never given a formal presentation before, but the course helped me discover I was actually quite good at it, likely due to public performances in my personal life.”

Alongside important skills such as presenting and delegating, the programme also focuses on a core leadership skill – supporting the people that keep a business running: “I’ve learned how to manage and support people more effectively, not just at work but also in my personal life,” explains Liam Nixon, customer host. “These are valuable life skills that are important for supporting others, whether they’re colleagues, friends, or family.”

Looking ahead

In the latest episode of Sound of the Overground, ARL’s employee podcast, hosts George and Bentley shared the exciting news that the Untapped Talent programme would return for a second cohort, following the success of the first.

Listen to the episode to hear from Violeta Caloianu, traincare supervisor, and Jon Olliffe, who took part in the first cohort. Available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.