GEN Y RAIL
of the railway line between Manchester
and Liverpool,
and
the start of the Northern Hub project, which is freeing up more space for more services, lots and lots of jobs will be available.
have made my decision sooner. If you’re They’ve actually electrifi cation track,
in a company like Network Rail there are chances to move around. already
told me that once I have the qualifi cation you can move from to
signalling, whatever. Once you’re in, you’re in.”
In the under-16s event, eventual Gen Y Rail champions EBA Bright Lights made it through after presenting a very professional business case, and Chorlton High School’s Chorlton Carriages also made it through.
The event had kicked off with Sir Richard Leese, leader of Manchester City Council, addressing the audience. He kindly ensured that space at the Town Hall was donated for the event, which he strongly supports.
He said: “We have just entered a new golden age in the railway industry, passenger numbers have grown massively, and all predictions are that this will continue. This means that there are fantastic career opportunities for people to enter the rail industry – and not always on the railways themselves.
“If you go down to Manchester Victoria station at the moment you will see a fantastic new roof being built there, and this has led to lots of construction jobs. But with the electrifi cation
“We will need graduate and apprentice engineers to build this new infrastructure. And then there is HS2, which is estimated to create 50,000 jobs across the network. As well as building the railway lines, we’ll need people to maintain, operate and service the trains. There is a skills shortage and we need more people to enter the professions. Hopefully today will have opened your eyes to the careers in operating and maintaining our railway.”
At the event, where Alstom and Northern Rail were among the exhibitors, Alstom apprentices how
also they got O’Connor,
discussed into the
industry through university, college and apprenticeships. Emily
assistant
project manager at Colas and a judge at the event, also highlighted how she made it onto the company’s graduate scheme and how the programme has also helped her work towards her IMechE chartership while also working in various areas of the business.
She added: “I’m extremely happy to be working in a diverse industry, where no two days are the same and the possibilities are endless.”
Going forward with Gen Y
Jim Hubbard, director of STEM development at Newcastle College, also told RTM that all the people involved with the Gen Y Rail events have found them benefi cial and have really enjoyed the days.
“I think this event could catch on going forward. The kids have had a great benefi t from the event and it gave them an opportunity to think about rail and look at rail in a different light.”
Anna Holness, managing partner of passenger services practice at O2, said the students at these events are the future and the ideas they have come up with are fantastic. “Events like Gen Y are what we need in the industry to keep the ideas fresh and bring on the next generation of talent.”
North west competitors
Westhoughton High School St Peter’s RC High School Whalley Range 11-18 High School Southern Cross School Eaton Bank Academy Neston High School Riverside College Chorlton High School Wigan UTC Acadmey Stockport College
Network Rail’s Marian
Molloy, HR business partner for
Infrastructure
Projects (Central), was one of the people who helped make the event a success, and she remarked on what a “fantastic” idea Gen Y Rail was. She helped arrange both
the West Midlands
event and the national fi nal at Westwood.
RTM’s Roy Rowlands,
Trustee of the UK Rail Industry Training Trust and Gen Y Rail organiser, said it has been a “fantastic journey” with all the Gen Y events this year, and it has been fascinating to see the interest, ideas and innovation displayed by both the students and industry at the events.
He is extremely keen to keep promoting Gen Y and, hopefully, expanding the programme in the next year. “In the fi rst year we have seen there is a genuine interest and appetite out there for these types of events. I just hope we can do more of the same, but even bigger and better going forward. The best way we can do this and take Gen Y forward, though, is with even more industry involvement.”
www.genyrail.com FOR MORE INFORMATION
rail technology magazine Jun/Jul 14 | 23
Photography: Kevin Poolman
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