“I wouldn’t want to work anywhere else”

Three women who launched their Network Rail careers through the company’s graduate scheme used International Women’s Day on March 8 to tell TOM ALLETT about the opportunities available to all

“I guess I slid into the rail industry really. I applied to a lot of graduate schemes, but at the time I applied to Network Rail the company appeared to be trying to think and do things differently and that sounded very exciting to me.”

Project Manager Sarah Hewlett joined NR’s graduate scheme in 2015. She notes there is a tiny bit of railway heritage in her family history - her family has a photo of a P-Way track worker ancestor from the 1900s, in which the LNER name is just discernible on his uniform.

Sarah readily admits that’s too far back in history to have influenced her decision to join the rail industry, although her positive experiences since joining Network Rail have helped to persuade her brother to join the railway family.

Neither Sarah nor Area Customer Service and Performance Manager Ivy Yeung had started out with the specific idea of working in the rail industry, although Ivy also has some railway family history - her grandfather and great-grandfather were both railwaymen.

Her own entry into the industry began after completing her degree at De Montford University, Leicester: “I began to look at career options and recognised Network Rail was taking steps to really support women, diversity and inclusion in rail, which is really important. I decided to take the opportunity [to join NR’s graduate scheme in 2019] and I’ve not looked back since.”

It was slightly different for Rachel Crook who, having joined the graduate scheme last year, is still part of it within a general management role.

Rachel was already considering a “transport career” of some kind during her time at university. She explains: “While studying Human Geography and Environment

[the study of the inter-relationships between people, place, and environment], I was broadly looking for a role in transport.

“I had written an essay about various aspects of sustainable rail. Then my career advisor emailed me to say there was a job advert for a position within the sustainability department at Network Rail.

“It was exactly what I had written about, and when I turned up for the interview it was with two women in senior positions. I thought that was normal at that time, and during the interview they explained how they got their jobs and I really enjoyed whole interview process.

“I finished my degree and came back into the graduate programme within the General Management and Operations scheme.”

Rachel adds that there are many variations available among the graduate schemes, explaining: “You can apply for it direct through Network Rail, or if you have completed a year in industry.

“My scheme lasts for 18 months and it’s really flexible - you can choose to do placements in any part of the business you like. They offer you an apprenticeship, which means one day of academic study a week. For me, that’s railway operations and management skills and I’m working towards a Chartered Management Institute qualification.

“You also learn business awareness and you can shadow anyone you want. I’m shadowing a few senior business leaders.”

She notes a “fair split” between the numbers of males and females on her course, but also the “many diverse backgrounds” of the participants.

“There are people who have come straight from completing their degree. Others are doing a mid-year degree who are in their 30s. There’s no age or time limit after completing your degree, so some had children after doing their degree.”

Ivy tells RAIL that the make-up of her course, a few years earlier, was very similar to

It’s really empowering to know that we can help shape the railway for the next hundred years.

Ivy Yeung, Area Customer Service and Performance Manager

There’s such a variety of work available, I feel I could change career without leaving the organisation.

Rachel Crook, NR’s graduate scheme participant

that of Rachel’s: “The draw for me was that it was very flexible. It allows you to control your own path through it, and I was looking for something flexible. It not only allowed me to work out what I would eventually like to be, it also allowed me to gain awareness across the business.”

None of the three feel they have encountered any resistance from colleagues in pursuing their chosen industry paths, although Rachel recalls how self-doubt initially hindered her progress.

“In the first year or so, any hindrance was put there myself. I had an opportunity, but I didn’t go for it. We have ‘grad buddies’ and a mentor in the system. In my case, it is a senior female leader who told me I must ‘go for it’. She really encouraged me to push my boundaries and empowered me to ask for what I wanted.

“An example of this happened in March. I was on a site visit and the head of the Eastern Region, Rob McIntosh, was there. I was able to chat to him, and afterwards my mentor said I should just email him and ask for a placement to shadow him for a week. I don’t think I could have done that [without the mentor’s encouragement], but he [McIntosh] emailed me back within an hour to set that up. That really empowered me to step out of my comfort zone.

“When I had just finished a placement in the Investigations Department, my manager there was so encouraged by the number of young female graduates coming into the business now, as it wasn’t the case 50 years ago. He really tried to use gender-neutral communication and really push me out of my comfort zone. I was encouraged to ‘just do it’ and take every opportunity.

“So, did I encounter any resistance? No,

I’d say the opposite. I asked a lot of questions because I don’t know a lot about the railway industry, and I was fortunate that he was able to set aside that time for me.

“Along the way, I have been helped by several key individuals who have encouraged me and pushed me to get to where I am.

“There’s such a variety of work available, I feel I could change career without leaving the organisation.

“One of the things that has really ‘stood out’ for me is there are women who were doing admin roles, perhaps working as a personal assistant, who were also being paid to train as engineers one day per week. They are now full-time engineers, so I know that I could retrain and perhaps do something completely different over the next 40-50 years.

“Also, I was married at 20, and when looking around for a job I wondered if I would get maternity pay should I have children in the next ten to 20 years. Speaking to other women here, I asked them how they achieved senior roles while having three or four kids, and they were willing to tell me how inclusive their job contracts are. The company invests in you there’s flexible working so you can job share and work part-time, so that’s all good.”

Asked what advice they would give readers who are considering a career in the rail industry, Rachel immediately replies: “Don’t hesitate to go for it,” while Sarah adds: “There are lots of interesting things going on.”

Rachel continues: “I hope potential joiners will appreciate just how many of their skills are transferable within the industry.

“If you have completed a degree and critically evaluated whatever subject your studied, then that skill is transferable to the railways.

“We all had ‘random’ degrees. For example, one guy on my course had studied art restoration. There were other degree subjects that I had never heard of and thought wouldn’t have been employable on the railway, but it’s all transferable.”

To emphasise Rachel’s point, Sarah adds: “I studied music,” while Ivy underlines the importance of having graduates within the team who feel empowered enough to challenge why things are done in the way they are.

“The railways have been around for hundreds of years, but [graduates] still feel able to challenge how and why things are done. That’s really valuable in helping us build a better railway and it’s really empowering to know that we can help shape the railway for the next hundred years,” she says.

The great grandparents of women joining today’s railway industry through Network Rail’s graduate scheme surely couldn’t have imagined some of the job opportunities that are now available to women. It’s perhaps equally likely that the progress now being made means that the grandchildren of the current intake will find it hard to imagine there was ever a barrier to women’s career choices.

“It’s noticeable that young women now have a greater appetite to join the rail industry,” says Ivy, while Sarah concludes: “It’s an industry that gets its hooks into you. I work in change, and there’s so much coming up in the future that I can see it’s going to offer me career progression, so I wouldn’t want to work anywhere else.

“If there’s anyone out there thinking about joining us, there are great networks across the company who will help you and I’m really excited to see who will arrive next. Please look at the website to see what’s on offer.”

There’s so much coming up in the future, I can see it’s going to offer me career progression. Sarah Hewlett, Project Manager