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How PRCA Support Helps COVID19 Affected Members

 

"En casa de herrero, cuchillo de palo", is a phrase I learned while travelling with my wife’s family in Paraguay, South America. "In the house of the blacksmith the knives are made of wood"– not only does it relate to work life, but probably a few other things as well.

We’re all so busy making companies and clients look good, we never actually do it for ourselves. It’s a corporate fatigue deep down we’re all guilty of observing. That is, until you find yourself in the job market and looking at a CV that’s a decade out of date.

Over the years I’ve attended PRCA events in London, met and got to know association members, but never joined. I’ve been a student union president, member of yacht clubs and running clubs, but never joined the important one that guides the industry I’ve been part of for 20 years. It’s a regret.

Why? After a rough experience with the NUJ as a trainee, I adopted a ‘don’t join any club or committee’ approach to life, and also, with a young family, finding a few extra hours a week in the centre of town is difficult to justify.

Scroll forward a few years and I’m now in a small rural village near Bonn, Germany, and looking for new career opportunities just as COVID-19 broke and lockdown. With time on my hands I began to update my skillset, gauge the mood of the industry and plot ‘what next?’

After picking up a Tweet by Director General, Francis Ingham, I made becoming an individual member of the PRCA part of my plan. As part of a package of support for practitioners made redundant due to the COVID-19 crisis, or for those seeing a significant decline in their income, the PRCA began offering six months of free individual membership in April.

The PRCA kindly accepted my application for support and since then, I’ve connected with a small band of people who are in the lifeboat with me, (merrily) paddling away. Anyone assisted by the PRCA programme can access free online resources and partnerships, groups, and networking events. What’s it like?

In truth, there really is something as a free lunch as within hours of joining, I had received direct emails from the PRCA Director General, introductions from the membership team (who are brilliant) and pointers on how to make best use of membership.

Thanks to some introductions from kind members, I’ve received one-to-one professional development from industry leaders, expert help updating my corporate profile and taken part in some online training sessions.

The monthly Zoom gathering of programme practitioners -led by Koray Camgoz MPRCA, Head of Communications and Marketing for PRCA, and Renna Markson MPRCA, Engagement Director for PRCA- has become an excellent place to share thoughts and ideas and is a way to better understand the COVID-19 situation from a global perspective.

The PRCA’s website is a goldmine I frequently turn to and is something I encourage all practitioners – members or otherwise – to look at once a week. So far, I’ve made use of the online library and brilliant mental health tool kit.

On that note, I received a call recently from a fellow practioner who just ask ‘how are you, fancy a chat?’ It’s good to talk, and I’ve myself regularly exchanging messages also with others who are in a similar position as I am.

The best part of the programme for me has been the camaraderie with fellow members who are unfortunately ‘between jobs’, and supporting each other – a kindness in the horror story that is evolving around us right now.

Looking at other industries, to my knowledge, I can see no other support mechanism like this. It takes nothing to be kind and – three months in – I feel the programme is an innovative beacon to other trade organisations. My thanks to Francis, the PRCA team, boards and committees also for the for taking this bold step and leading once again in challenging times.

Nick Zea-Smith MPRCA is a freelance auto and tech industry practioner based in Koln, Germany, and available for hire. Immediately