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Thursday 29 Oct 2015

Rail chief demands new graduate intake ‘reflects the diverse society we serve’ as engineering opportunities increase by 40%

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Network Rail has today announced it is increasing the number of engineering places on its 2016 graduate scheme by 40%. Chief executive Mark Carne has welcomed the recruitment boost but warned the company needs a more diverse workforce that better reflects the society it serves.  His message comes ahead of Tomorrow’s Engineers Week (2-6 Nov) that aims to change perceptions of engineering among young people.

In a message to his 35,000-strong workforce, the chief executive said: “I am proud that we have increased the number of women joining our graduate programme to 29% in the last year and to 28% from black, Asian, minority ethnic backgrounds, but we have to accelerate that growth so that it better reflects the society in which we live and serve. 

“We need the very best talent on offer to help deliver our Railway Upgrade Plan and transform our railway to carry the ever-increasing number of people who choose to travel by rail safely, efficiently and comfortably. That means not missing out on bringing the best engineers – both men and women and all ethnicities – to Network Rail.”  

Graduates can apply for around 150 places on the 2016 graduate programme. There are 80 places across the three disciplines of mechanical, electrical and civil engineering – a 40% increase on the 2015 intake; with the other places split across general management, finance, property, project management, business technology, supply chain and human resources.  

Ben Vallely studied for a motorsport engineering degree but swapped the racetrack for rail when he joined the Network Rail scheme in 2011. He’s now a safety engineer on the Crossrail Programme, which will increase London's rail transport capacity by 10%, linking Reading and Heathrow in the West with Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the East.  Commenting on why the Network Rail graduate programme worked for him, he said: “When people hear I have a motorsport degree they ask me why I’m not working in Formula 1, but my father worked on the railway so I knew there were fantastic opportunities in rail and a really well-structured graduate programme. I still love Formula 1, but when I had the choice to join Network Rail’s scheme, it was an easy decision to make.

“My role as a safety engineer means I’m responsible for ensuring every piece of work on Crossrail complies with UK and European safety legislation, which is a massive task. I know though that it will mean that when the programme is complete, hundreds of thousands of people can safely travel across London every day. I also do a lot of work with industry bodies such as the Institution of Mechanical Engineers to address the skills gap in engineering, which is something I really enjoy.”

Shinjinee Pal, an electrical and electronic engineering graduate who joined the Network Rail graduate scheme in 2014, said: “My first placement working on the transformation of London Bridge station was really exciting as it threw me in at the deep end. I was managing a small but crucial project to deliver an all-purpose manual for the equipment room which houses all the electrical components for the running of the station. I worked with people across the business, was involved in negotiations and site visits, and it gave me a great insight into the technical and managerial challenges of delivering a big project. 

“The culture of the company has been the best thing for me as it helped me settle into my first job really easily. Everyone is very approachable and helpful which creates a very nurturing and encouraging environment for me to develop.”

 

 

 

Network Rail has a number of ongoing activities aimed at increasing the future talent pool of women engineers:

• By 2018, some 3,000 teenage girls at five schools in Milton Keynes, the home of Network Rail’s national centre with 3,000 employees, will receive careers advice on working on the railways alongside school programmes run at a local level across the country. It will also continue to find and appoint role models among its staff to serve as ambassadors for women working on the railways.
• Running a series of open evenings at training centres targeted at women, showcasing roles, introducing applicants to staff and building confidence to apply for engineering roles.
• Roll-out of a work experience scheme supported by Barclays which will begin in the new school year.
• Work with the campaign group Women in Science, Technology and Engineering (WISE) to increase understanding of why girls often reject careers in these fields.

Network recently conducted research with child psychologist experts Innovation Bubble which found that girls as young as seven have an ‘unconscious bias’ against engineering and that, by age 14, many have switched off from it as a career option altogether. See the full story here:

http://www.networkrail.co.uk/news/2015/oct/new-approach-girls-engineering/

Notes to editors:
Successful applicants on the Network Rail graduate programme will enjoy a starting salary of £26,500, 28 days’ holiday + public holidays, travel discount and pension. The programme closes for applications on 13th December 2015. More information at: www.networkrail.co.uk/graduates