Funeral Service Operative Review

I am a Funeral Service Operative who currently works as a Night Ambulance Crew member. My main duties involve the care and preparation of the deceased. Also we bring the deceased into our care from their place of death and are the first point of call for the family. I also prepare coffins by lining them with the next of kins choice of trim and also do the engraving of the nameplate.

Yes I have learned many new skills in a brand new field. I have learned how to collect the deceased from their place of death in a safe manner which is also respectful to the deceased and their loved ones. I have also learned how to prepare the deceased in a safe manner and also how to place them safely in the coffin.

I enjoyed all aspects of the programme with the exception of having to do the English and Maths tests as I could not locate my A level certificates. This area is frustrating as when you have already done exams to an high level it is not right that you should redo the exams.

This programme is well structured and helps to learn the new skills required in the funeral industry. There are lots of areas to learn including funeral regulations and law along with the practical things such as driving the ceremonial vehicles, handling floral tributes and carrying the coffin.There are lots of new legal processes that you also have to learn which are very interesting.

Very little support was given from my line manager and nearly all the work had to be completed in my own time. The practical learning had to be done in work time but was hard to fulfil due to not being able to control my own diary as the operational requirements dictated this very often.

I had several different tutors throughout the programme and there was various periods of time when no tutor was available and this caused delays in completing the course. However the last tutor I had was very supportive and flexible in her approach to supporting me in the final months of the programme. The online support was easy to use and there were no issues completing the online assessments.

It helped me immensely has it was a new field of employment and was useful in the transference of skills from my previous employment. The knowledge I gained is invaluable for helping me mentor fellow employees in ther roles and also provided me with a increased knowledge base for the future.

There are very few extra curricular activities within the company. However we do alot of community edents in our own time as in my role their are insufficient colleagues employed to cover when asking for time off to do community work.We do network with our peers but have very little if no communication and feedback from management level staff.

No

At the current moment we have very little management who have any or little people skills and have not fulfilled the roles that the company was supposed to have done when restructuring which meant numerous experienced colleagues left that have not been replaced and the ones thst have joined have not been made to do the roles that they were taken on for.

The training is good but management and implication of job roles and the responsibility of fulfilling the profiles are not adhered to. There is scope to progress but it is through self driven process rather than a supported process from within. Lots can be achieved by hard work and desire but be aware that there are lots of cliques in branches.