The RailStaff Awards 2024

Nominations for Graduate of the Year

James Richards

Said the following about Patrick White:

“Patrick started at Network Rail in September 2017 on the Network Rail Graduate Scheme. In April 2018, he was asked to be a part of a delivery team that were tasked with delivering the largest outreach programme in Network Rail's Year of Engineering calendar called "Fast Trackers". The accredited programme consisted of a sustained piece of early engagement that saw c200 students being given experience of university life, engineering careers and culminating in an employer led project that contributed to graduating from an Industrial Cadets Gold programme.

As the project gained notoriety, interest came from Westminster UTC to assess whether they could be included in the project and it was decided to run a similar scheme in parallel with the larger northwest programme, which Patrick was asked to deliver (alongside a co-worker).

With only a project concept and stakeholder schedule tabled, Patrick took ownership, developing and delivering the project which culminated in an incredibly successful outcome for the students. Timeframes were enormously pressing, student’s numbers fluctuated almost daily and interest came from other parties until the day of delivery, which made the execution of the project exceptionally challenging. However, despite the challenges, Patrick managed the ever changing variables with a cool and calm head in the face of a huge turbulence and with a maturity usually found in much more experienced personnel. I have no doubt that without Patrick’s dedication to task and a massive personal commitment, this project would not have been delivered at all and as such, I have no hesitation in recommending him for this award.“