The RailStaff Awards 2024

Ella Gardiner

Said the following about Alstom Advance TRS:

“After forming a recruitment partnership in early 2020, this autumn, Alstom UK’s Digital & Integrated Systems business are celebrating the milestone of onboarding 275 new staff members across all UK teams, during 2 years of Pandemic and Post Pandemic uncertainty.

Alstom & Advance TRS joined forces just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, forming a partnership to deliver a permanent staff recruitment drive of rail signalling management, engineering, and operational personnel across the UK..

Of the 275 new starters since spring 2020 a high proportion has already been promoted or progressed in their career development taking on new responsibilities. Key successes have been within project engineering, planning, procurement, test & installation, management and control systems teams, with further opportunities available. As well as onboarding new joiners specific focus has been paid to increasing under represented populations within Alstom’s work force. By enhancing selection activities, the number of female employees with the Alstom D&IS business has grown by 107% since the start of the resourcing drive in 2020.

The project has seen both businesses work closely on delivering processes designed to not only encourage great people to join the Alstom team but also revolutionise how recruitment is managed within the rail sector and set about fundamental changes in the market.

“My favourite part of my role is enhancing and developing new skills and expertise in the development of people. I have fully embraced Alstom’s People Management Cycle and encourage the development of my team members.”

Lead Commercial Manager, Alstom.

“Alstom has committed to training the right candidates to be the perfect fit for the business. They understand that not everyone will be the finished article straight away, but their development opportunities are really encouraging and quick to materialise.”

Principal Project Engineer, Alstom.

As an extension of Alstom’s brand, and the first point of contact for candidates, Advance TRS consultants are trained to deliver a premium service, leaving every candidate with a positive experience. A recent candidate satisfaction survey conducted by Advance TRS indicated that candidates have had an excellent experience with Alstom via Advance TRS, from first contact to starting their role.

Rating their experience, candidates were highly satisfied with the service received from their recruitment consultant and the partnership in general. Furthermore, the survey participants said that they would recommend the partnership. This has been exemplified by the high volume of referrals to the programme from successful applicants.

“My Consultant has kept me informed of progress throughout the Recruitment process on a regular basis. I have also been given the opportunity to raise questions/concerns at every step of the journey.”

“My consultant keeps me updated on a weekly basis and contacts me 2 times every week to see if there’s anything I need. We spent time working together closely to update my CV and this has proved the defining factor in me getting an interview and successful being given the job.”

“My consultant acted in a professional way at all times during the recruitment process and was a great help throughout.”

This positive first impression and communication throughout the recruitment process is the first step in new employees' journey with Alstom but it doesn't stop there. Caring, innovative and responsible by nature, Alstom is committed to providing all employees with career opportunities and the empowerment they need to succeed in their professional lives. With a comprehensive onboarding programme and career development pathways outlined early in the employee journey the joint team support candidates through the entire change process.

As the partnership continues to grow from strength to strength and the Southern and Eastern frameworks enter their delivery stages, this opens up a number of exciting opportunities to work on landmark infrastructure projects across the UK. In addition, Alstom has exciting product development, ETCS projects, major tenders and legacy Bombardier works in the pipeline, setting out an industry-leading programme of work for years to come.“