Recruitment
“I first met Jack some 4 years ago when we were first discussing the possibility of putting a Doncaster bid forward for the National College for High Speed Rail.
I had no inkling from that first meeting in a small room in Doncaster College how often I would be asking Jack for yet another favour. From technical advice, curriculum workshops, rail conferences, moving exhibits from an attic to be displayed at a Doncaster rail museum and charity events, the list of subjects I’ve asked Jack to help with is endless.
Without fail Jack has responded with his usual good grace and enthusiasm and he has made a massive contribution to the success of the original bid and the subsequent development of the college building and curriculum. More than that he has been a fantastic ambassador for Doncaster and has represented VolkerRail with absolute professionalism.
From our Mayor, Chief Executive and of course myself we have nothing but the utmost respect and admiration for Jack. In short he is a legend and a gentleman.“
“2017 marks Jack’s 50th year in rail. In this time Jack has become an industry-leading engineer with perhaps the greatest level of experience of all engineers within the rail sector, propelling him into senior appointments such and as the specialist railway advisor to the awarding body for qualifications and a board director on the Doncaster University Technical College.
Jack is the head of engineering for VolkerRail and as well as his day-to-day duties Jack has also set out to pass on his expertise and develop the next generation of engineers to the benefit of VolkerRail and ultimately the rail industry through a scheme he designed himself – VolkerRail’s engineering excellence programme.
Designed to assist in the professional development of over 100 of VolkerRail engineers the programme provides guidance, training and mentorship to facilitate enhanced engineering delivery on projects. The programme consisted of a number of key stages:
• Questionnaires were sent out to all personnel who were either practicing engineers or engineers by profession, aimed at gathering a complete picture of engineering capability within the business and the level of support required for professional development.
• Gain professional recognition for our engineers with: Institution of Civil Engineers, Institution of Engineering Technology, Institution of Railway Signal Engineers, Institution of Mechanical Engineers and Permanent Way Institution.
As a result of this VolkerRail now has
• 15 engineers pursuing C Eng or Fellowships
• 20 pursuing I Eng
• 10 pursuing Eng Tech
• One candidate achieving C Eng
• two achieving I Eng
• two achieving Eng Tech
• two submissions for Fellowship.
Jack also helped develop and implement a mentoring programme, training courses and learning events. The mentoring programme saw potential mentors put through a training programme before being paired with an engineer suitable to follow an Engineering Assurance Handbook that sets down the arrangements necessary to undertake key engineering roles e.g. Contractor’s Engineering Manager and Contractor’s Responsible Engineer.
Jack has also been a mentor to over 20 young apprentices and influential in launching specific courses for CRE’s and CEM’s which have been delivered to all our practicing CEM’s and CRE’s and is unique to VolkerRail and ground breaking in the industry.
VolkerRail is very proud and lucky to have Jack and we feel confident that through Jacks work, there will be a new; highly skilled, engineering generation of tomorrow.““
“Having been a member of the M&EE In Possession Operations Sub Group for a number of years, I can attest to the time and effort that Jack devotes to developing and promoting good practice within and for the rail industry and his wealth of knowledge and experience which is evident to all who know him. I find Jack to be a true professional on every level, approachable and always willing to listen to the opinions of others. Jack fully deserves recognition for the commitment he has shown to the industry over the years and I fully support his nomination for a lifetime achievement award.“
“My name is Duncan Perkins and I’m a Rail Plant Technical Advisor for J Murphy and Sons Ltd.
I met Jack through the M&EE some time ago and very quickly realised Jacks passion for safety within the rail industry. I see Jack as an outstanding model to others and one who has most definitely had a phenomenal impact with regards to safety on the rail infrastructure, not just in the UK but in Europe. His knowledge within the industry is also known to many, I for one would like to congratulate him on his many accomplishments and selfless contributions to the rail sector.
Good Luck and I wish Jack all the very best in the future.“
“In his British Rail days, Jack was a leading figure in the development of plant for the installation of OLE systems on our network, starting with the East Coast electrification project. Plant technology has moved on since those days but the principles that he brought to this area are still adopted in today’s plant.
Jack is a keen believer in the sharing of best practice across the industry and was one of the founding members of the M&EE Networking Group that was established on privatisation of the rail industry. It is testament to Jack’s commitment that he is still involved in that group to this day and this year began his second stint as the group chairman.“
“As always, the RailStaff Awards was a brilliant occasion to come together with different organisations from across the industry, to witness how the sector celebrates its people and the vital work its unsung heroes do on a daily basis.”
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