YOUNG RAIL PROFFESSIONALS: PEOPLE ARE OUR MOST PRECIOUS RESOURCE

YOUNG RAIL PROFESSIONALS PEOPLE ARE OUR MOST PRECIOUS RESOURCE

Iam without a doubt that “Creating a simpler, better railway for everyone in Britain” will require the right people to deliver. However, the rail industry currently faces a critical skills shortage.

There are a significant proportion of unfilled vacancies across some 250,000 jobs in the UK rail sector, many calling out for engineering professionals, and the demand for skilled workers is only predicted to increase, due to an aging workforce. The multitude of challenges to our skills and talent pipeline will hold us back from delivering wide-reaching future social, economic, and individual benefits in the years to come. It’s clear the industry needs to act quickly to recruit, train and retain new talent – but why has this been such a challenge to date?

THE HEART OF THE PROBLEM

Far too often I seem to have conversations with my engineering peers who are considering leaving the rail industry. From my experience, their reasons why often tend to fall into three key themes: a lack of appeal, a slow-paced industry, and/or a lack of awareness about the widespread opportunities available within the sector. As an ambassador for early careers professionals within the industry, and someone who goes out of my way to inspire and develop our future leaders, even I find myself questioning if rail is for me. As it turns out, as a woman in engineering, I’m not alone.

In November 2021, my employer, Atkins, commissioned a report which explored diversity, progression, and retention in engineering. It uncovers the barriers to progress within a career in engineering and explains the factors which can help us unlock the necessary diversity of talent to meet the challenges of tomorrow. The three themes I had experienced were prevalent across the report and highlighted a particular focus amongst the more diverse talent pool, such as women, young adults, and those from ethnic minority backgrounds.

Fiona Westcough.

THE VALUE OF A DIVERSE TALENT POOL

Attracting new talent from a more diverse talent pool would not only help to plug the growing gaps in our skills workforce, but it would also bring greater innovation and the positive workforce culture required to tackle these significant challenges and major projects that lie ahead. As a group, early careers professionals often possess fresh perspectives, are motivated to make a difference in their communities, and are often the cause of inclusive cultural shifts in their workplaces. The upcoming generation is largely focused on self-improvement, an increasingly valuable trait in today’s increasingly visible, socially fractured world as we are more likely to identify our biases, self-evaluate our impact, and lead with curiosity and inclusivity. However, if the industry is to attract new talent, how can we engage and appeal to a more diverse audience?

REFLECTING ON MY JOURNEY INTO RAIL

Reflecting on my journey into the rail industry, the company I work for and my involvement in the YRP have been the two key pillars to providing fantastic training, qualifications, and opportunities for me. Firstly, I undertook a summer placement which highlighted the opportunities available within the industry and led me to join Atkins’ graduate scheme. The scheme helped me gain exposure to a variety of engineering projects throughout my first years, as well as undertake development courses to expand my knowledge. Furthermore, I have been provided with fantastic mentors, from whom I regularly receive guidance which helps build my confidence in my abilities.

YRP has provided a network of individuals across the industry, and my Monitored Professional Development Scheme with the Institution of Mechanical Engineers has provided a great framework of competencies for me to aim towards as I progress towards Chartership. Without these opportunities, I likely wouldn’t be chair and director of YRP today. I often think of those early careers professionals who were not given such opportunities and can’t help but think of the talent our industry is missing out on.

TRAINING, QUALIFICATION, AND CAREERS

Changes to the diversity and age profile of the rail industry will be difficult unless there is a top-down approach led by the Government and key industry organisations. However, as organisations or individuals, we can all play our part. At an industry level, we should be educating the public about what a career in rail really looks like and showcasing the spectrum of opportunities. Happily, YRP has been engaged by the Great British Railways Transition Team to share our views on the cultural change required to inspire early careers professionals. To me, culture is especially important to shaping the attitude of the workforce.

At an organisational level, we should implement and modernise diversity policies, training, and development. This could include normalising alternative working patterns, ensuring transparency in progression and promotion procedures, or ensuring equal access to development opportunities. Even at an individual level, we can make a difference. For example, you can become a mentor, or support YRP by speaking at one of our events. YRP highlights the opportunities in rail by delivering networking and development events around the UK as well as initiatives such as Rail Week, Young Rail Tours, Heritage Engagement, and Into Rail.

Between 3-9 October, YRP welcomes you to support Rail Week, our headline week of dedicated activity which aims to address the skills shortage and inspire a generation of young people through a series of events, visits, and talks. We’re focused on inspiring the skills needed for the future and educating our people on the challenges ahead so that we, as an industry, can be fit for the future. Get involved in Rail Week Get involved in Rail Week Rail Week aims to inspire young people to choose rail careers, through a week of events, visits and talks. By working together we can bridge the skills gap and attract talented and ambitious young people into the sector that we all love. The week is a great way we can showcase the diverse range of people and roles in the industry which keep passengers moving and allows us to deliver some of the most ambitious infrastructure projects around. Keep an eye on our website youngrailpro.com or railweek.com for upcoming events! Rail Week aims to inspire young people to choose rail careers, through a week of events, visits and talks. By working together we can bridge the skills gap and attract talented and ambitious young people into the sector that we all love. The week is a great way we can showcase the diverse range of people and roles in the industry which keep passengers moving and allows us to deliver some of the most ambitious infrastructure projects around. Now is the time to commit to getting involved! We need you to: • Host tours of your depots, factories, control centres, stations, etc., • Give public lectures and seminars about your incredible projects, • Volunteer your staff to promote rail in schools as Rail Week Ambassadors. Rail Week can be whatever you want it to be. If you have a great idea shout about it!

Now is the time to commit to getting involved! If you’re interested in supporting Rail Week 2022 please contact fi ona.westcough@youngrailpro.com We need you to: • Host tours of your depots, factories, control centres, stations, etc… • Give public lectures and seminars about your incredible projects • Volunteer your staff to promote rail in schools as Rail Week Ambassadors Rail Week can be whatever you want it to be. If you have a great idea shout about it!

www.railweek.com @railweek www.railweek.com @railweek

SLC appoints non-executive director

SLC Rail has appointed Neil Micklethwaite as its new non-executive director. Neil, who is chief operating officer for CMAC Group, will join SLC Rail’s board this month.

Neil has held several senior positions in the transport sector, both within operating businesses and at group level. This has included being the commercial director of Chiltern Railways, commercial director at First Great Western, customer experience & commercial director at East Midlands Trains, and more recently group business development director of Stagecoach.

He also serves as vice president of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT), which aims to promote professional development and sharing of knowledge and best practice.

Ian Walters, managing director of SLC Rail said: “We are pleased to welcome Neil to the Board.

“Gaining access to his vast business development and commercial experience will be invaluable to SLC Rail as we continue to grow the business. We look forward to working with him.”

Commenting on his appointment, Neil added: “It’s impressive to see what Ian and the rest of the team have achieved in such a short period of time. The company has made a positive impact on the rail industry through supporting third party projects and I’m excited to be working with them as they continue to make a difference to communities up and down the country.”

D2 Rail welcomes Ashley Williams

Ashley Williams has joined D2 Rail as digital engineering lead. He will be based between the firm's King Street and TRU site offices, to drive data analytics on projects and provide consultancy to engineering teams on the use of digital tools. He will report to David Harwood.

Ashley re-joins D2 Rail from Atkins Middle East where he was the BIM manager on two rail enhancements projects for the Dubai Metro, along with moving into the digital asset management space providing data analytics and data visualisation for condition assessments within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Ashley has 15 years’ experience in the engineering industry, predominately within Rail but also spanning water treatment and highways. He has been responsible for delivering data analytics and data visualisation for both internal management and external projects, BIM for UK and Middle Eastern Rail enhancement projects, signal sighting for Crossrail, visualisations spanning multiple sectors, and CAD for rail and water treatment.

Ashley can be contacted at: ashley.williams@d2rail.co.uk

FirstClass adds two new team members

UK based Rail Depot Safety specialist, FirstClass Safety & Control, has added two new members to its team as project orders come in thick and fast.

Tony Blacker and Kirsty Light have joined FirstClass at an exciting time, with new project orders coming in from both the UK and overseas, including New Zealand and the Middle East.

Control Systems Design Engineer, Tony Blacker, will oversee the design of FirstClass’s flagship Rail Depot Protection and Control Systems. Tony graduated from Wolverton Technical College in technical and design engineering and has worked in multiple industries for over 30 years. He brings to FirstClass experience in whole life design and execution of projects, covering hardware and software, with extensive experience as a programmer.

Finance & Administration Executive, Kirsty Light, will oversee the day-to-day finance and admin with a focus on overall cost efficiency together with the provision of quality management information – such as spearheading the paper-free initiative. Kirsty brings 15 years’ experience across several engineering and customer focussed industries, wearing different hats in a variety of roles. With a broad breadth of skills, from executive assistant to IT support, financial and data analyst to account manager, Kirsty is the ‘go-to’ for anything office-based.

Mark Meyrick, Director of FirstClass Safety & Control said: “Tony & Kirsty have joined us at a pivotal time in the growth of FirstClass as we continue to win project orders from both home and overseas markets. They both stood out as excellent candidates and I am really looking forward to working with them as part of ‘Team FirstClass’. The only issue we have now is one of space, a nice problem to have and one that will be resolved over the next month or so”.

Keltbray Rail welcomes new engineering director

Keltbray Rail is pleased to announce the appointment of Dave Speakman as engineering director with managing director responsibilities for the Wentworth House Rail Systems Limited (WHRSL) OLE design office based in Preston Brook.

WHRSL was established in 2012 to provide consultancy, design, and development for Overhead Line Electrification (OLE) in rail infrastructure. Since then, WHRSL has developed exceptional OLE design experience, having worked on major projects both within the UK and Australia such as Crossrail, West Coast Mainline Power Upgrade, GWRM, Great Eastern, Norwich Victoria Sidings, TRU, and MTMS2 (Australia).

Dave is a civil engineer by profession with design/construction and engineering management experience spanning a 33-year career within the rail electrification industry. During this time, he has worked overseas in Hong Kong and throughout the UK on several high profile multi-disciplinary electrification projects for a range of clients, most recently working for the TRU Alliance.

In his new role, Dave’s immediate priorities are to establish a consistent competency framework within the rail engineering business whilst providing support for the development of technicians, graduates and engineers alike to help fulfil their potential.

Commenting on his appointment, Dave said: “This is an exciting time for Keltbray with a significant potential future workload and plans for company growth. I will be prioritising consistency and competency within the rail business and intend to enhance the WHRSL brand through investment in the workforce, recruitment and development including a plan to modernise the office and the implementation of agile working in readiness for the planned transition to a tier one rail industry supplier.”

Kelly Pepper joins XRail Group Ltd

XRail Group Ltd has welcomed Kelly Pepper on board as the company’s business development director.

Kelly, who joins the company from Unipart Rail, is an experienced business manager with a long history of working in the logistics and supply chain industry.

She has over 20 years’ major rail infrastructure experience delivering customer-focused multi-disciplinary services and establishing strategic industrywide relationships.

Renowned for her collaborative approach, Kelly’s appointment strengthens XRail’s ability to support and exceed their clients’ expectations and provide the best solutions safely and efficiently.

Mike Brown CBE MVO appointed RSSB chair

The Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) has appointed Mike Brown CBE MVO as the new chair of the board. The appointment took effect from 23 June 2022.

The former commissioner of Transport for London, Mike led the capital’s transport network to dramatic improvements in safety, service reliability, and financial efficiency.

While at TfL, he was responsible for the successful delivery of Tube and mainline rail for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012. He also delivered a multi-billion-pound investment programme on London’s roads, rail, Underground and cycling network, including the world’s first Ultra Low Emission Zone. Under his leadership, London saw major station upgrades and line extensions, including on the Northern Line, as well as the introduction of digital signalling and new fleets on large parts of the Tube and TfL rail network.

When TfL took over direct responsibility for Crossrail, Mike set the project on the path to deliver the new railway, now open as the Elizabeth line. He also led TfL’s early response to the Covid pandemic.

Since 2020 Mike has been chair of the Delivery Authority for the restoration and renewal of the Houses of Parliament. He is a former chair of the National Skills Academy for Rail, and the Strategic Transport Apprenticeship Taskforce.

Mike has been recognised with a CBE for his services to public transport and was appointed as Member of the Royal Victorian Order (MVO) by the Queen in 2002. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport. He has an honorary Doctorate from the Queen’s University of Belfast.

GHD strengthens UK transport offering with two new senior appointments

GHD, one of the world’s leading professional services companies, has made two new appointments to further strengthen its market-leading UK transport solutions offering and grow its client base in the region. Dario Feliciangeli has been appointed as UK transport market leader, while David Hurren has been named business group leader – transport solutions.

David Hurren previously held the position of director at GHD, having joined the company in July 2021. David will be responsible for managing the operations and project delivery of the GHD’s UK transport solutions team. He has over 25 years’ experience working and consulting in the strategic transport and wider civil engineering sectors.

Dario Feliciangeli joins from Meinhardt, where he spent five years, latterly as an associate and infrastructures unit leader, and has previously also worked at Mott MacDonald and HNTB. Dario is a highly skilled engineer with a dual degree in Engineering & Architecture, and extensive experience delivering civil engineering projects across the US, Middle East and UK.

David said: “GHD is an exciting and rapidly growing player in the transport market and I am very much looking forward to leading the excellent transport solutions group. The transport market is facing exceptional challenges that need clear, effective and data-led advice.”

Dario added: “GHD has an ambitious vision for the future to be the leading advisor and technical authority on the movement of people and goods, as well as projects that improve connectivity. We see sustainability and resiliency as being integral to future communities and clients’ transport needs.”

Balfour Beatty welcomes Lee Hewitt

Lee Hewitt has joined the international infrastructure group Balfour Beatty as UK health, safety and environment director.

Lee will take up his new role on 5 September, following Heather Bryant retiring on 18 November, having spent eight years at Balfour Beatty. Lee will be responsible for driving the company’s Zero Harm, Health, Safety and Wellbeing strategy across the Group, working closely with Balfour Beatty’s leadership teams and the Board Safety and Sustainability Committee.

An experienced construction and infrastructure leader, Lee has undertaken several strategic roles, most recently as programme director for Site Wide Delivery and Logistics for Balfour Beatty VINCI’s HS2 Area North contract. Having joined Balfour Beatty to work on the HS2 project in 2020, Lee is further testament to the Group’s ongoing commitment to developing broad leadership careers through a strong commitment to internal mobility.

Leo Quinn, Balfour Beatty Group chief executive, said: “Health and Safety is our License to Operate and it is imperative that our teams are empowered and supported to deliver our Zero Harm vision. With his extensive deep domain knowledge and understanding of the industry from leadership and project-based roles, I know that Lee will continue to drive this agenda forward across Balfour Beatty, and I am pleased to welcome him to the Group.

“I would like to thank Heather for her steadfast commitment to making the construction and infrastructure industry a safer and healthier environment for everyone.”

Lee Paxton joins GCRE

The Global Centre of Rail Excellence (GCRE) has announced the appointment of Lee Paxton as director of rail operations.

Lee began his career with Network Rail in 2005 before going on to hold a number of positions with Arriva Trains Wales, East Midlands Trains (EMT), and CrossCountry Trains. He joins GCRE from CrossCountry Trains where his most recent role was industry projects director. He was previously network services director and customer service director.

Simon Jones, chief executive of GCRE, said: “Lee is an experienced and highly motivated railway industry professional with a strong track record of leading operational teams and managing the development and delivery of significant infrastructure change. He is a great asset and a very welcome member of the senior team as we continue to attract some of the best talent in the rail industry.”

Lee Paxton said: “I am passionate about putting the customer first and transforming the passenger experience on Britain’s railways. As a major infrastructure project, GCRE will provide muchneeded state-of-the-art rolling stock testing, infrastructure testing and storage and maintenance for the UK and international railway industry. It’s a really exciting project that has got the potential to transform our rail industry hence my enthusiasm to get involved and help make it happen.”

GCRE was established by the Welsh Government as a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) in 2021 with an initial commitment of £50 million. The UK Government is expected to confirm a further £10 million for research and development along with capital funding of £20 million. An investment prospectus to attract private funding for the project is also in development ready for launch in the autumn of 2022.

Kent & East Sussex Railway appoints new general manager

The Kent & East Sussex Railway (K&ESR) has appointed Robin Coombes as its new full time general manager, taking over from Shaun Dewey who retired in July.

Robin has over 30 years’ experience working with both the railways and in heritage tourism, latterly as the company secretary for the Vintage Trains Group. He has also worked in construction, in marketing and advised successive governments on regional development.

He said: “In joining K&ESR, I’m fulfilling a true childhood ambition to one day become a railway general manager, having first found a passion for trains watching tank engines from the platform of Cardiff General station.

“I’ve worked in many different fields and tackled many challenges in my career, but nothing has given me as much pleasure as being handed the opportunity to walk in the footsteps of one of the railway giants – Colonel Stephens. This is both a privilege and a responsibility which I am taking very seriously.”

Robin started his career at British Rail as an architect and project manager in the 1980s, moving into marketing for several BR networks and then transferring his skills to the National Welsh Omnibus Company. His next move took him to renowned international heritage tourism and sustainability consultancy Eres where he led landmark transformational projects both in the UK and abroad, including the 50-year masterplan for the Welsh History Museum.

However, a role as the independent review chairman of the West Somerset Railway Association in 2014-15 reconnected him with his passion for rail. A full time PhD into governance and sustainability from 2016-2021 saw him assisting the Rail Regulator (ORR) to develop the heritage section of new industry standards. ORR subsequently adopted his ‘12 Tablets for Good Governance’ and the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) are set to roll this out to the wider rail industry.

Announcing the appointment K&ESR Chair Simon Marsh said: “We are delighted that Robin has agreed to join us and are excited for what this means for the future of the railway. He comes with a wealth of experience in the heritage railway sector and more widely. I am confident that he will successfully lead the K&ESR through all the challenges that we face as a heritage operator and take us to the next level in our development.”

We are hiring!

NSAR Approved Trainers / Assessors

Nationwide Career Opportunities

Due to exciting growth and further expansion, Intertrain, part of City & Guilds currently have several permanent vacancies for qualified NSAR Approved Trainers / Assessors.

We are opening new training centres nationally and we are keen to hear from you!

We are looking for professional, committed, and passionate NSAR Approved Trainers / Assessors with solid occupational experience to join our team. Intertrain, part of City & Guilds was established in 1997 and is the UK’s largest commercial railway infrastructure training provider, with training centres across the country.

As part of your role, you will assess the learner’s progress and maintain accurate records of the assessments of learning carried out, the learner’s journey, achievements, and feedback.

We offer full-time, permanent contracts. You will receive a competitive salary, life assurance cover, company car, and corporate bonus. You will also benefit from the additional leave during Christmas shutdown.

If you are interested in joining our expanding professional team, please apply by email with your CV: careers@cityandguilds.com or to apply online please visit: www.intertrain-careers.co.uk

Some of our industry leading training centres are based in Doncaster, Warrington, Portsmouth, Bristol, Birmingham, Crayford and London.