Lorna Richardson

Said the following about Shelby Coates:

“Shelby is a young Project Manager in Alstom whose personal drive and hard work have quickly propelled her into her role where she is now Project Manager on her own project, South Kirby Resignalling. This is a multimillion pound project and despite this project being her first solo PM role, she is excelling.

Over the last 5 years, Shelby has had a whirlwind of a rollercoaster ride, first exploring her interest in engineering through an apprenticeship with Linbrooke after leaving college. Here Shelby learned about implementing new technology whilst working in a Consortium and was quickly promoted to Assistant Project Manager.

Moving to Network Rail, Shelby worked on the Kings Cross remodelling project and was promoted to Scheme Project Manager. Working on such a prestigious project opened Shelby's eyes, highlighting just how important it is to work collaboratively with others.

Shelby is a team player and thrives off of working with others, understanding what makes people tick and finding ways to enable collaboration in and outside of work, finding time to play for 3 different netball teams in her spare time!

More recently, Shelby moved back to York and worked with Network Rail as part of the IP Signalling (Capital Delivery) team before returning to the contractor side, working with Alstom. Shelby is well thought of - well networked and respected within her specialism and often people have supported her progression, by spotting her potential before she did and putting her forward into positions to grow and learn.

Her approachable, transparent process helps Shelby negotiate relationships between partners and stakeholders, adding immense value to the projects she works on. At Alstom, Shelby has grown and learnt a lot in a short time, benefitting from their investment of time and money into the development of their team.

Reflecting on the last 5 years, Shelby shared;

“It's unbelievable how much my knowledge has grown, especially in my time here with Alstom. My experience to date on projects has spurred me on to push for excellence and helped me to implement best practice and an excellent safety culture on the projects I work on. I have learned that, as long as everyone goes home safe every day, then everything else is manageable and this is the core fundamental of how I work with my team and business stakeholders.”“

Mark James

Said the following about Shelby Coates:

“From the moment Shelby walked into the site office as an apprentice project manager, her thirst for knowledge was evident and her passion for the railway was infectious. Immersing herself in everything signalling, spending time on site and working nightshifts, Shelby’s keenness and ability to deliver was beyond that expected of an apprentice.

With her calm and professional manner, Shelby delivered everything that was asked, gained the respect of those she worked with, establishing herself as someone the team could depend on and quickly progressed to become an Assistant Project Manager. These traits and approach to work, Shelby continues today and are why she is a worthy candidate for this award.

I am extremely proud to have been part of the start of Shelby’s career and the considerable progress she has made in a relatively short time. We are lucky to have talent like Shelby in the rail industry.“