Monday 5 Sep 2011
HUNDREDS OF JOBS FOR MK AS NETWORK RAIL KICKS OFF RECRUITMENT DRIVE
- Region & Route:
- | North West & Central
Milton Keynes MPs Iain Stewart and Mark Lancaster joined Network Rail today to kick off a year-long recruitment campaign to fill hundreds of new roles at the company’s new national centre.
More than 3,000 people will be based at the landmark building when it opens next summer. While many of these will be existing employees who have chosen to move to Milton Keynes from Network Rail offices around the country, a significant number of roles will be open to local candidates over the coming 12 months.
Network Rail will be offering roles at all levels in areas ranging from finance and engineering to IT and human resources, providing a unique opportunity to join one of Britain’s most high profile companies and enjoy exciting new career opportunities.
Network Rail has set up a new website for prospective candidates to register their details and receive updates as roles become available. They can also search for current Network Rail vacancies in Milton Keynes – the company already has almost 1,000 people at its MK Central offices which opened in September 2009, of which around a quarter have been recruited from the local area.
Visitors to the website can also find out more about working at the national centre, which has been officially named The Quadrant:MK. It will be one of the greenest office buildings in Britain, easily accessible by public transport and offering world-class facilities for employees, including an on-site gymnasium and convenience store.
Adrian Thomas, Network Rail head of resourcing, said: “It’s hugely exciting to be able to offer so many people the chance to join Network Rail at our new national centre. One of the key reasons we chose Milton Keynes was the quality of the local talent pool and I’m sure it will be tough selecting the very best and brightest candidates.
"There's a history of engineering and technical expertise in industries across this part of the country; we want to tap into those capabilities and combine them with our expertise in the rail industry to provide a truly world-class railway."
Iain Stewart, Milton Keynes South MP, said: “Construction work at Network Rail’s new national centre has progressed really quickly. I know that a lot of us are looking forward to welcoming the organisation and its employees to Milton Keynes.
“We really are anticipating a boost to our local economy with Network Rail coming to the city. Relevant local agencies and organisations are working full steam ahead to ensure that we have the skills locally to support Network Rail and its supply chain.”
Mark Lancaster, MP for Milton Keynes North, said: “It's a privilege to see Network Rail's new National Centre take shape. Its state-of-the-art design and green credentials mean it is totally in keeping with Milton Keynes. Not only is it great to have Network Rail based here, a major rail-travelling city, it is also a fantastic thing to have the organisation's new hub, Quadrant:MK, being built here.”
A better work-life balance
Matthew Lutz works in human resources for Network Rail at the company’s MK Central office. He and his wife Charlotte, who also works for Network Rail in Milton Keynes, moved to the city from Birmingham in March looking for a better quality of life for them and their 10-year-old daughter.
“We’d been talking about moving away from Birmingham for a while,” said Matthew. “When the move to Milton Keynes came up at work, we agreed it was the right move for us as a family. I can’t wait to move into the new national centre and I certainly don’t miss the long daily commute!”
Adrian Thomas said: “The Quadrant:MK will be a fantastic place to work, a truly unique working environment with one of Britain’s most high profile companies. Working in the heart of Milton Keynes will offer a tremendous work-life balance alongside excellent career opportunities and I’d urge anyone who wants to find out more to check our careers website and register with us today.”
Teams will start moving into the national centre in phases from June 2012, with the moves complete by September 2012.
To find out more about careers at Network Rail, visit www.networkrail.co.uk/careers.
Notes to editors
The design of the national centre includes a host of eco-friendly features including extensive ‘living roofs’ which will encourage diverse habitats for flora and fauna in the centre of the city and a rainwater harvesting system which will be used to flush toilets and irrigate landscaping.
However, the national centre will bring more than environmental benefits. It will bring the right people together in a single location – enabling Network Rail to work better as a team and deliver a better service to its customers. It will also help improve the way the company works across the business, creating an environment that encourages faster and smarter ways of working with great career opportunities.
The national centre is expected to save Network Rail millions of pounds a year as the amount of office space it rents across the country will be greatly reduced. Bringing together national functions in one place will also improve teamwork and planning and support Network Rail’s devolved routes based in places like Manchester, Swindon, Derby, York and London.
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