The RailStaff Awards 2024

Nominations for Graduate of the Year

James Richards

Said the following about James Featherstone:

“James Featherstone started at Network Rail in September 2017 on the Network Rail Graduate Scheme. In January 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 a 3-day residential to London where they completed an employer project that contributed to graduating from an Industrial Cadets Gold programme and formal recognition from the PWI.

James demonstrated exceptional focus and dedication throughout the delivery of the project and took control of almost all elements of the project while acting as a central point of contact. As such, this saw him working professionally and diligently alongside Clients, Institution Presidents, CEOs, MDs, teachers, students, volunteers, universities and partner organisations alike. The project was hugely demanding, challenging and at times frustrating and through all of this he demonstrated tremendous resilience, agility and mental stamina for someone at the beginning of a career. The project was a tremendous success and I attribute a large proportion of that to James’ contribution, which regularly went over and above what was fair and reasonable to expect.

Alongside the ‘Fast Trackers’ programme, James has taken an active role in several other technical groups since starting at Network Rail. His communication and organisational skills saw him become the Midlands lead for the Safe by Design Young Engineers Forum within a matter of months, also being given the responsibility for all communications. He also sits on Network Rail’s BIM Discipline Review Group as the graduate liaison, is the Civils Lead on the graduate Technical Training Steering Group and leads Engineering Engagement in his region – he does this all alongside participating in his training scheme and working towards his professional chartership.

He is exceptionally resourceful, has superb communication skills and I have no hesitation in recommending him for the Graduate of the Year award.“

Gary Wood

Said the following about James Featherstone:

“James Featherstone graduated from the University of Sheffield in 2017, and is also a graduate of Sheffield Engineering Leadership Academy (SELA), our programme to fast-track the development of high potential engineering undergraduate students into leaders with the skills, confidence and aptitude to make a positive difference in industry or research.

The SELA programme provides a foundation for leadership, and we are proud to have witnessed James’s commitment to his continued development – and, importantly, that of others around and following him – as he has transitioned into his graduate role with Network Rail. Through successfully leading Network Rail’s Fast Trackers outreach programme, engaging over 200 young people and inspiring them to recognise and realise their own potential, he has embodied the qualities we look for in SELA members and graduates: enterprise capability, good judgement, technical and academic ability, inspiration, flexibility, self-awareness, and personal vision.

In September 2018, James returned to SELA as an industry mentor at our Induction Bootcamp for our 2018 student intake. The support of industry mentors is crucial to the success of SELA, with mentors helping students to reflect on and recognise their skills and areas for development, whilst drawing on their own experiences and stories to contextualise students’ learning. James worked with small groups of our students throughout the weekend’s activities, and also delivered a whole-group presentation where he shared his experiences of transitioning his skills from SELA into graduate life. James provides a positive role model to our students, through his tenacity, ambition and commitment to success, combined with his clear focus in developing his career and taking advantage of every possible opportunity. Being close in age to our members, he is able to inspire and excite them about the opportunities ahead. As one student explained: ‘It was very inspiring to hear [the mentors’] stories of working in industry, and the advice that they had for different aspects of their careers; it has allowed me to consider alternative career paths’.

Since joining us for the Bootcamp, James has kindly agreed to advise and mentor some of our second year students who hope to enter the rail industry after graduation. His willingness to honestly discuss the benefits and challenges of his own first-hand experience, combined with his network of contacts, and his ability to relate to students about to make the transition he has successfully made over the last year, make him an outstanding ambassador for his industry and his company.

Network Rail surely must feel as lucky to count James amongst its staff as we do to say he’s a Sheffield and SELA Graduate. I can imagine no-one more deserving of recognition as Railstaff Graduate of the Year.“

Steve Williams

Said the following about James Featherstone:

“James has been part of Network Rail since 2014, having been sponsored through university as part of the ICE QUEST Scholarship. During each of his summers, James spent several months working on some of the largest infrastructure projects in the country including Birmingham New Street Station, Farnworth Tunnel and others. As such he is developing a broad and deep understanding of both safety and engineering assurance aspects of projects.

Within the first few months of his graduate scheme, which started in September 2017, he requested to attend the Safe by Design (SbD) Working Group, which I run as the Technical Head of Discipline for Buildings and Civils within Network Rail IP. Alongside the Working Group, made up of industry leaders from across the supply chain, we also run a Young Engineers Forum (YEF). The YEF produces case studies on lessons learned and good practice, concentrating on the many facets of safe by design activities which help make designs safer. These then form part of the SbD group’s archive. The YEF also allows an opportunity for engineers working towards chartership to develop their presentation skills, and gain a wider appreciation of rail industry activities.

At the SbD Working Group James offered to support the supply chain by helping to run the YEF. Once he had attended one of the regional forums to understand the way in which it was currently run, he took on the role of YEF Midlands lead and YEF head of communications. With James’ enthusiasm and drive, the YEF has grown substantially in the past year, with a standardised format developed for all associated documents and with increased attendance by the younger generation of Engineers within both NR and its supply chain.

I attended the first YEF which James organised in Birmingham, and was thoroughly impressed by the way in which he professionally chaired the meeting of around 30 engineers, including senior engineers from within NR, the way he induced discussion points and the way he kept the day to time. The agenda which he organised included some excellent learning points from enthusiastic speakers, some of which I contacted and asked to present to the SbD Working Group. James facilitated this for me.

James has subsequently worked with me to introduce ‘Safe by Design’ training to the Track and Civil Engineering graduates, and I was once again very impressed with how he managed the training sessions which I presented at.

In my view James’ technical abilities, communication skills and enthusiasm for ensuring the safety of the railway, within the Safe by Design community, makes him a suitable candidate for the Railstaff Graduate of the Year, so I am very happy to support his nomination.“

Barry Gleeson

Said the following about James Featherstone:

“James Featherstone is an outstanding young man and credit to himself and our Industry.

I first came across James when Network Rail’s Engineering Director put me in touch with him, as he’d expressed an interest in learning about BIM. I invited James to attend NR’s BIM Discipline Review Group (BIM DRG) made up of senior leaders in BIM transformation, which I chair, to increase his exposure to the subject. I have been thoroughly impressed by him since.

His enthusiasm and commitment meant after a short duration of attendance, I asked James to take on the role of Graduate Liaison to the BIM DRG, targeting implementing a digital agenda within the company’s new graduate intake going forward.

James took the challenge on with professionalism and drive, bringing in other graduates to work with him to help this key pillar of our delivery strategy, digital agenda for graduates. He is now spear-heading the implementation of BIM into the graduate programme, creating a framework through which the latest intake of engineers will gain exposure, do research, and propose improvements around the use of digital technology and BIM for the business. He has already single handily secured the participation of our new CEO and many other senior personal in a Dragon’s Den review event at the end of the innovation challenge.

James’ work with BIM extends beyond his work with the BIM DRG. He also delivered a large scale outreach programme (Fast Trackers) which he was able to integrate with elements of BIM capability, to supplement the learning of students across the country. Likewise, he sits on the committee of the Safe by Design Young Engineers Forum, the content of which is heavily BIM focussed. I am also aware of a research project James was asked to do for the Executive Board into Sustainable Development within Infrastructure Projects, for which BIM formed part of his proposed ‘big win’ solution.

He presents himself with confidence, is incredibly proactive and shows a determination for improvement of the industry as a whole. His understanding of the scale of the challenge the railway faces in implementing BIM is impressive, as is his ability to spot opportunities to share this with his peers and get others engaged. I am excited to see what our engineering graduates can produce, with James at the forefront inspiring and leading others.

I believe James is an exceptionally talented graduate and a truly great candidate for Railstaff Graduate of the Year.“

Rebecca Harris

Said the following about James Featherstone:

“James delivered a research project on my behalf, looking at Sustainable Development within Infrastructure Projects (IP) at Network Rail. This piece of work was requested by the IP Exec board to undertake a baseline assessment of the sustainability strategies across the country.

The output from James’ research was very well received by the exec board, particularly the distinction of ‘easy’ vs ‘big’ wins which could be implemented from the leaders of IP. This demanded an in depth understanding of current practice, guidance and the structure of the organisation.

To produce this work, over the course of several months, James analysed previous case studies of both good and bad practice, spoke to subject matter experts within the company, and looked into the ‘why’ rather than the specific activities. This approach, along with looking at the challenge with a fresh pair of eyes, allowed him to produce some very insightful findings. What became clear from James’ work was the difference in approaches and terminology used by different regions, providing a strong case for a one-vision-one-way approach.

His communication skills were excellent, particularly given the experienced and high profile audience he was addressing (the Network Rail IP Executive board) and the tight time constraints applied due to over-runs earlier in the day. The feedback from IP’s MD, Francis Paonessa, was fantastic and well deserved. I would not hesitate in recommending James for the Railstaff graduate of the year.“