career coach | what employers want
SIGNAL YOUR SUCCESS
Why Working at Network Rail Could Be Your Next Stop
Network Rail is one of the country’s biggest employers and offers the opportunity to getting involved in solving real world problems and allocating public money in the most efficient way
At a glance
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A three- year apprenticeship scheme is a stepping- stone to more senior roles
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You’ll work across a variety of departments and functions
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Network Rail is keen to recruit apprentices from a diverse range of backgrounds
Network Rail owns and manages most of the railway network in Great Britain, including some of the biggest railway stations in the country. It is one of Britain’s biggest employers and has 42,000 staff across England, Scotland and Wales. The finance department is 500 strong, is a central function within Network Rail and does a lot of transactional activity on behalf of the rest of the business.
“We are looking for recruits with good communication skills, adaptability, a problem-solving mindset, collaboration and resilience,” says Freya Horrocks, Finance New Entrants Scheme Manager for apprentices, graduates, year in industry and summer interns at Network Rail.
An apprenticeship scheme with Network Rail will give you three years’ experience, a strong network and an excellent set of transferrable skills. In an increasingly virtual world, where communication can be more challenging, demonstrating a skillset in effective communication and adaptability is key.
New recruits need to be proactive and be ready to look for improvements and help the business develop viable solutions. You’ll need to have a problem-solving mindset, be willing to learn and able to add value to the organisation by solving real world problems.
What is Network Rail looking for?
“Getting people with the right behaviours and values far exceeds the academic ability because we can teach them how to do the job,” says Kathryn Hurst, Financial Controller at Network Rail. “When an apprentice comes in with the right attitude, knows how to speak to customers and is willing to learn and they take pride in their work, that is 80% of the job. Having people like that on the team really helps to drive great outcomes.”
Given that the organisation is publicly funded, the training scheme aims to instil behaviours of spending money efficiently and effectively. Trainees learn the ethics and responsibilities of managing public money.
Recruits work in Finance, with opportunities to work with Capital expenditure, Operational expenditure, Income, Financial Accounting and Group Finance environments. Early on in their role, they get exposure and experience of helping with complex projects for finance leaders.
Network Rail is building a diverse and inclusive organisation in order to be more representative of the passengers it serves.
“We recruit people from different backgrounds and with different skills because it really does make a difference,” says Jenna Hayward, Senior Accounting Services Manager at Network Rail. “In our most recent intake we have taken on someone who studied dance and who has never done finance or business in school or college. She’s engaged, great at communication and really outgoing. That is a real asset in our team.”
What working for Network Rail looks like
If you enjoy working as a team and are looking for an exciting and rewarding career, then an apprenticeship at Network Rail could be a great opportunity for you.
You’ll receive practical on the job training mixed with classroom-based learning. You will be earning whilst you are learning, and you will be supported and mentored by experienced colleagues, allowing you to thrive in the rail industry. There is also additional time off allocated for studying.
During the training scheme, new recruits engage with customers, build relationships and take ownership of their work.
As you become more experienced, you have the change to investigate processes and identify improvements which could have a direct impact on the productivity and efficiency of the organisation. You work within different teams and specialisms, take part in placements at different departments while studying for your professional qualification.
Network Rail has a training catalogue containing over 1,000 skills and leadership courses, easy-to-access eLearning and award-winning new entrant and higher education programmes on offer to employees. It offers talent management programmes aimed at providing the skills needed for more senior roles within the company. There is a structured coaching and mentoring programme and after you have achieved Level 4 AAT there is the chance to move on to the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) qualification.
What are prospects like?
Apprentices go straight into roles that involve engaging with customers, building relationships and taking ownership of their work.
“The long-term career prospects within the organisation are excellent,” says Freya Horrocks. “Many previous recruits now hold directorate level positions within Finance. There are ten director level finance roles within the organisation, so there is no limit or shortage of opportunity.”
Apprentices are supported by their line manager, scheme manager and their apprenticeship talent coach in developing a Personal Development Plan (PDP). They are also encouraged to look at processes and identify improvements which could have a direct impact on the productivity and efficiency of the organisation.
“At the end of the training programme we have well-rounded assistant accountants who are ready to take on more senior roles,” says Kathryn Hurst. “They stay with us because there is a lot to learn and in return, we have the continuity and talent pipeline which is so vital to the success of the organisation.”
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