Philip DeSilva

Said the following about Ben Blake:

“When Ben Blake took part in telent’s graduate selection day two years ago, he stood out from the crowd immediately. Having moved to the UK with his family from Australia and later studied as a mature student, Ben’s exceptional people skills, focus and determination to succeed were obvious – as you would perhaps expect from someone who had already enjoyed a successful career as a professional skateboarder…

About Ben

“My family moved from Australia to the UK in the 90s, when I was in my teens. After my A Levels, I had intended to go straight to university. However, having been heavily involved in skateboarding, various opportunities to get involved on a semi-professional basis presented themselves, so I decided to pursue those first. I was involved in advertising and magazine work and got to visit quite a few countries. Unfortunately, halfway through my career, I tore a cruciate ligament and, whilst the injury didn’t end my career, it did have an impact.

“When I decided to move on, I enrolled with Birmingham City University and undertook a degree in Construction Management and Economics. I’d done a variety of jobs in the construction industry during my years skateboarding so I knew it was something I wanted to study. I graduated in August 2013 and began work with telent that September. Although my career now is very different from my previous work, the transition has been straightforward. I think this is because both skateboarding and project management involve solitary work and depend on self-reliance. Also, both present their own kind of hurdle to overcome, whether managing recovery from injury or managing the expectations of stakeholders.”

The Role

Once enrolled on telent’s two year graduate programme as a Graduate Project Manager, Ben’s project management skills impressed. As a result, early in his time with telent he was given full responsibility for project managing the planning and installation of radio equipment and antennae on trains, as part of the larger RETB upgrade project. The RETB project involves planning installations in particularly difficult terrain, the Scottish Highlands, so detailed planning is critical.

This was a larger and more valuable project than would normally be allocated to a relatively new graduate, but one which has seen Ben flourish. One important aspect of the project is working with a variety of stakeholders from Train Operating Companies as well as Network Rail. Ben explains “We don’t get a lot of time face to face so most communication is carried out by email and conference calls – clarity and accuracy are therefore really important.”

Ben combined his easy-going, personable nature with a clear business focus and meticulous project management in order to steer the project through to its current stage, a 10 week trial period, on schedule.

Support for Ben

Iain Whiteley, Project Manager at Network Rail, has been particularly impressed by Ben – “Initially Ben provided a supporting role to the project and assisted where required. It soon became apparent that Ben had certain skills that could be utilised to great effect on the project. It was great to see Ben get the promotion he deserved – well done. It is great to see success being recognised and rewarded!”

Nominating, Phil de Silva, General Manager – Radio Systems, telent, relays how Ben has impressed customers and stakeholders to such a high degree, they have taken the time to provide exceptional feedback: “About a year in to Ben’s time with us, I received a call from a customer querying Ben’s role, suggesting he was far more valuable than his Graduate Project Manager title suggested – not something that happens every day.

“In meetings with stakeholders Ben can command the room. He is naturally inclusive, yet an incisive negotiator. He brings a warmth and flexibility that rallies everyone to the common goal of successful project completion. Mature beyond his years, Ben manages himself and his work diligently.

“We promoted Ben to Assistant Project Manager, ahead of schedule, as a result of both his achievements on the RETB project and the ongoing commitment and development of skills he continues to demonstrate within telent and the rail industry. Ben has quickly become a real asset.”“