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Tuesday 7 Jul 2009

1000th NETWORK RAIL APPRENTICE HIRED AS COMPANY WINS TOP TALENT BUSINESS AWARD

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National

Nineteen year old Prakash Navaratnarajah from Southall in London has this week become the 1,000th apprentice to be hired through Network Rail’s award winning advanced apprenticeship scheme, launched just four years ago.

Prakash along with over 200 young people will join the first year of training at Europe’s largest specialist engineering training centre, HMS Sultan in Hampshire. A year later he will join the signalling and telecommunications team at Stonebridge and be part of a 35,000 strong railway workforce delivering a £35bn investment programme to improve and maintain Britain’s rail network over the next five years.

The milestone comes as Network Rail won a coveted business award for its dedication and commitment to investing in talent, creating new jobs and training apprentices for the future.

At a ceremony at Clarence House, HRH the Prince of Wales presented Network Rail with the Serco Talent Award, in association with the Talent & Enterprise Taskforce, at the annual Business in the Community (BITC) Awards for Excellence. The awards are the UK’s most influential, independent, peer assessed corporate responsibility awards. They recognise and celebrate those companies who have shown innovation, creativity and a sustained commitment to corporate responsibility.

Geoff Lloyd, Serco group HR director, judge and sponsor of the 2009 Talent Award, said: “Network Rail’s approach to talent has seen them create a culture of learning and change throughout the organisation. This holistic approach to the development and investment in talent is characterised by the boldness of the scale that they have aimed to reach. The judges were impressed by the clear leadership that has created an opportunity for life for Network Rail employees both present and future. Network Rail is a great ambassador for how business can support, develop and grow talent despite challenging business issues and is therefore a deserving winner of the Serco Talent Award, supported by the Talent & Enterprise Taskforce.”

Stephen Howard, chief executive, Business in the Community, said: “Network Rail is a tremendous example of a company succeeding in their efforts to look outward, as well as inward, for talent during a recession. By investing in existing employees’ training and development needs, as well as promoting its apprenticeships and graduate training schemes externally, they send a clear signal to others that maintaining this level of commitment is possible, even during tough times. Our people are our future, and I congratulate Network Rail for achieving this award, after putting people at the heart of programmes that have improved the business on multiple levels.”

As one of the biggest investors in vocational training and development in Britain, Network Rail recognises the importance of investing in the company’s future by nurturing new and existing talent. Specialist vocational training centres provide Network Rail staff with a dedicated base to learn new techniques and update existing skills, playing a pivotal role in the leadership and talent development of Network Rail people.

The award winning advanced apprenticeship scheme which combines personal development with technical training has trained 1,000 apprentices since it launched in 2005 and will train an additional 1,200 in the next five years. In 2009 the company will spend more than £30 million on vocational training and is set to take on 280 graduate recruits, about double last years intake.

Commenting on hiring the 1000th apprentice, Network Rail chief executive Iain Coucher said: “We believe in investing in our people. A bigger and better railway needs the very best in skills to succeed. By investing in the future of hundreds of young men and women, we invest in our own future too. I am immensely proud that we have reached this milestone of 1,000 apprentices and look forward to training the next 1,000.”

David Willetts MP, shadow secretary of state for universities and skills said: “I have been very impressed by the Network Rail apprentices that I have met. They are learning a valuable trade and getting excellent training at the same time. I am particularly impressed by the residential aspect of the programme, which teaches important life skills, and am very glad to see the scheme is growing - even during the recession. We want to see a big increase in apprenticeship places and are committed to ensuring there are more opportunities for young people than in the past.”

As well as these 1,000 apprentices, Network Rail is bucking the trend on general employment and skills investment and its graduate programme. It has enabled its 13-14,000 front-line workers (such as track workers) to access Skills for Life development training. It has recruited 473 people from the graduate pool since 2003 - with 76 students joining the new Network Rail MSc in project management in 2008 - and plans to recruit 280 graduates in 2009 alone.

This apprentices scheme is just one part of the training and development revolution unleashed by Network Rail. Since taking over Britain’s railway infrastructure we have: launched a master of science (MSc) in project management; set up maintenance and signalling training schools; developed a foundation degree in rail engineering at Sheffield Hallam University; opened a leadership development centre and been given awarding body status by the QCA. This all demonstrates our commitment to world class projects delivered by great people.”

This investment in people has had a marked impact on business effectiveness, from helping to achieve record train punctuality and on employees and their local communities. Feedback shows that colleagues now feel more fulfilled and empowered, and many have taken on new challenges, such as becoming school governors, sports coaching and playing increased roles in local faith communities.

Network Rail’s community safety work was also highly commended by the BiTC after picking up a Big Tick earlier this year.