James Kenealey

Said the following about Ged Mason:

“At Morson, we have a specialist rail recruitment division, which has been placing experienced rail professionals into new roles for over 40 years. It’s no surprise that this experience has led to us working alongside some of the industry’s most high-profile companies, and subsequently, we are now recognised as the UK’s leading railway recruitment provider.

Ged Mason – who joined the company in 1986, became managing director in 1999 and CEO in 2005 – has embraced the family values with which the company was founded. As it nears £1billion Group turnover, Ged continues his father’s legacy in leading Morson, which is the UK’s largest, independently-owned recruitment business.

The Group boast a presence on every continent except Antarctica, comprising boutique agencies up to global corporates, each delivering its own specialist offer to their market while strengthening the Morson family and depth of experience. Continuing towards an ambitious vision of global growth through strategic acquisitions and market completion, Morson made three acquisitions last year: Anderselite Holdings Ltd and Waldeck Holdings Ltd in the UK; and Canadian and USA-based recruiter, Strategic Infusion Inc, through which the company plans to augment its North America presence.

While advancing its international reach, a focus remains on accelerating growth in the UK, with planned expansion into complementary marketplaces, particularly IT, professional services and infrastructure to satisfy labour requirements required to deliver HS2, nuclear new-build, construction and other major infrastructure projects.

In his drive toward global growth, Ged has accelerated the company’s integration of technology, setting the tone for Morson and the industry for years to come. Recent technology investments include: a £1.5m Vencuro application enabling seamless management of end-to-end tasks and access to real-time data; streamlining candidate website journeys – increasing direct website applications by 95% and generating revenues of £6.2m; new bespoke microsites yielding up to a 45% rise in applications; proven social media campaigns.

Bridging the skills gap

Amid escalating competition for talent Morson is working to introduce extraordinary changes within the industry, innovating to bridge skills gaps while discovering new candidates in previously untapped sources, tackling diversity challenges and opening doors for fresh talent.

A key extension of the Group’s company values is the provision of extensive training to senior management in the area of Equalities, Diversity & Inclusion. But combatting unconscious bias through training, blind auditioning and CV anonymisation is just the beginning…

Morson has led several targeted initiatives, including its pledge to double women’s engineering contracts by 2020. Pre-pledge figures showed that women comprised just 7.5% of total engineering contracts. This has risen to 13% in the short period since Morson embarked on its commitment, as the company has more than 1,800 female engineers working worldwide.

As the mastermind behind this ambitious target, Ged uses diverse platforms – networking events, awards, social media - to encourage others to make similar pledges. He has spearheaded a partnership with The Girl’s Network to empower young women from disadvantaged Salford communities to connect with a mentors and a network of leading female role models.

Additionally, Morson promotes women in engineering case studies, providing role models and key advice to inspire young women considering a career in the industry. It also sponsored the Large Organisation category of the Northern Power Women Awards 2018, which recognised women and men working towards gender parity in Northern Powerhouse organisations.

Working to bridge the looming skills gap, Ged recently strengthened his partnership with the University of Salford, pledging £500,000 for a state-of-the-art open-access Morson Maker Space, which encourages young people to explore STEM-related fields.

In addition to fulfilling his late father’s £270,000 pledge offering 15 fully funded engineering scholarships, Ged pledged a further 15 Gerry Mason Engineering Excellence Scholarships, bringing the total number of scholarships to 30. The scholarships encourage individuals who would otherwise be deterred by tuition fees and living costs to pursue engineering degrees at Salford.

2018 saw the University the first four scholars graduate. One of these young men, James Kelly, said: “Upon being awarded my scholarship through Morson, the family element of the business shone through immediately. There is no doubt in my mind that this stems from the wonderful family ethos of Ged Mason and the Mason family. Ged’s personal interest and passion for our future careers meant that we always left feeling extra motivated and inspired.”

Ged has also furthered a commitment to helping ex-forces veterans into civilian careers. The Group has in excess of 2,500 ex-military contract and permanent staff working on client projects in the UK and overseas.

A record-breaking fundraising target for 2019 will give £500,000 to charities including ABF The Soldier’s Charity. Ged is a generous benefactor to numerous sports organisations and charitable causes. And to mark half a century in business, Morson has increased its efforts to support community groups and charities, initiating its ‘50 Weeks of Giving’ programme, helping institutions such as schools, shelters, elderly care centres and youth projects.

Ged’s self-initiated Ambassadors programme sees inspiring individuals motivate and educate clients, candidates and employees through new perspectives and positive influences. From different backgrounds with varied life experiences, they all share the same drive and determination, which is why they are part of the Morson family.

Within #TeamMorson Ambassadors is Corporal Andy Reid, who lost his legs and right arm while serving in Afghanistan in 2009. His determination, optimism and integrity make him a role model, not only for the ex-forces, but for the wider community, and he works with Morson recruiters to aid the transition of ex-forces veterans into civilian employment.

Having received an OBE in 2016 and an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Business Administration (HonDBA) for services to the business sector and local area from The University of Salford in 2014, Ged has used his position and Morson’s success as a platform for helping others. Close friends, professionals and charity partners are full of praise for a man whose ongoing work aids those in need, be they members of the community, young people getting on the career ladder or those who are struggling against the challenges of new employment.“