Chris Roberts

Said the following about Network Rail’s Civils Design Group (York):

“I have nominated Network Rail’s Civils Design Group in York for Team of the Year to acknowledge the staggering range of community and charity based activities which they have undertaken this year whilst maintaining their responsibilities in an extremely busy team. All of these additional activities have been completed with great personal sacrifice and huge amounts of team work.

A number of people within the team are ambassadors with the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) and North Yorkshire Business and Education Partnership (NYBEP). They regularly work in local schools, colleges and universities; leading a wide range of events to promote STEM subjects, Network Rail and engineering in general. Many of the team members are also Ambassadors with Network Rail’s Advanced Apprenticeship Scheme, helping to advertise the scheme and recruit the next generation of Network Rail apprentices. Recent events have included The Tower Challenge, Giant Tetrahedron, Input Bridges and attendance at Teen Tech South Yorkshire. Team members cover a wide range of events and give up many hours of their spare time in doing so.

Alex Boynton is a volunteer at the National Railway Museum, working two shifts per month on weekends staffing the visitor information points to help the NRM offer the best experience possible to its visitors. This role is vital in helping the museum to remain operational, especially in light of recent funding cuts which have forced the NRM to reduce the number of paid employees.

It’s not all about volunteering in rail related posts too! Eva Walenziak (one of the engineers in the team) is a volunteer with the National Trust at Treasurer’s House in York. She works every Saturday as a volunteer room guide, helping visitors to understand the history of the property and its owner whilst making sure every customer has an enjoyable experience.

Chris Roberts (Programme Manager) supports two children’s football teams in Garforth and has raised vital funds for both teams. Chris has completed FA safety and safeguarding training to support approximately 60 children in a football coaching role.

Jonathan Wright (Senior Programme Manager) is a volunteer with the Samaritans’ York Branch. He has completed an intense period of training and now frequently completes shifts on nights and weekends taking calls from those in need. This has strong links with the railway environment, particularly with regard to suicide prevention; a topic which the team have been working on closely with Alex Sullivan-Wilson.

The team, as a whole have participated in many charity events over the years with recent examples including the Great North Run to help The Wilf Ward Family Trust and The Crosses 53 Mile Walk in aid of Scarborough and Ryedale Mountain Rescue Team. All in all the team have raised thousands of pounds, not to mention keeping themselves in great health!

All of this fantastic charity and community work is why I believe York Civils Design Group deserves to win this prestigious award.

Volunteering brings benefits to the whole of Network Rail. It is widely stated that less and less students are taking engineering related subjects at school and college and even less are pursuing a career in engineering. According to statistics published in New Civil Engineer there will be a shortage of 450,000 apprentices by 2020 which is sure to have an impact upon Network Rail’s ability to deliver work. The work of STEM ambassadors is therefore vital in promoting engineering and encouraging young people to take up careers in rail related disciplines. Through both the ICE events and Network Rail’s Advanced Apprenticeship scheme the team have talked to hundreds of potential apprentices and have raised awareness of Network Rail job opportunities in lots of schools and colleges.

Eva’s voluntary work does not have a direct link to the route but it greatly benefits the wider community. Jonathan’s work at the Samaritans certainly offers benefits to the rail industry by talking to people who could be at risk of attempting to take their own life on the rail network. Recent figures from LNE’s suicide prevention team show that suicides have significantly reduced over the last year. All of the charity running and walking has improved the health of the team and has strong links to Network Rail’s health and wellbeing programme.“