What do the teachers, students and the rail industry think?
Scott Johnson, Engineering Training and Competence Manager, Northern Rail Ltd
They are excellent events and are essential for the future rail industry and engineering in general. You have my support for any future events!!
Mrs Stephanie Jackson, Technology and Engineering Directorate, H5 Tutor, Framwellgate School Durham
"I wanted to say thank you on behalf of myself and the students we all had a fantastic time and everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves".
Ellie Harrison, 14, Gen Y Rail Competitor
“After attending the Gen Y Rail events, I know I definitely want to be an engineer and it has made us all aware of the opportunities in engineering.”
Alex Robinson, 19, Gen Y Rail Competitor
“Having attended the regional heats and now the final, we have been inspired by what the rail industry has to offer and we are considering the career opportunities available.”
Lewis Rodgers, 18, Gen Y Rail Competitor
"Before the final, and the Manchester heat, I hadn’t considered a career in rail – but I am now.”
Connor Hunt, 18, Gen Y Competitor
“It had really sparked an interest in rail. Coming here today has opened my eyes to what rail has to offer. Rail is growing, and there are lots of opportunities with HS2. When I get to the stage of applying for jobs, I think it will be really interesting to see how I can get involved in HS2.”
Dr Samuel Illingworth, Lecturer in Science Communication, School of Research, Enterprise and Innovation, Manchester Metropolitan University
Thanks for putting on such a fab event!
Nick Spall, Route Delivery Director LNW North, Network Rail
“If only 5-10% of the students who come to these events come our way, into the rail sector, then it is a job well done. I certainly hope that Gen Y Rail can continue to grow, and with all the exciting developments and investment in infrastructure – particularly in rail over the next 25 years – it is these boys and girls who are going to be delivering it.”
Katie Ferrier, Programme Manager - Central Electrification Team, Network Rail
"I’d like to say congratulations on the event yesterday which was a tremendous success. The young people were fully engaged and the presentations I judged were of an extremely high quality and included some really innovative ideas. What was most encouraging was the number of people at the end of the day who were interested in a career in the rail industry. Please pass on my thanks to everyone involved.”
Gary Lamb, Principal Regeneration Officer, Manchester City Council
"I found it very informative and interesting. All the young people on the day appeared to enjoy it and take something away from the day.”
Ivan Phillips, Head of Science, Adcote School for Girls
“Our girls had a very instructive time and enjoyed their day. Thank you for putting this Gen Y Rail event on.”
Janet Waddell, Teacher, Stockton Sixth Form College
“I am so proud of them! I think they did work very well together and came up with some amazing ideas. It’s been fantastic – we brought two teams and both teams absolutely loved it.”
Marin Marinov, Rail Education Group Manager, NewRail
"It has been a great pleasure to work with Roy C Rowlands and his team. As a result we created and delivered an event that is the envy of the world. The benefits of events like GenYRail are million-fold due to their collaborative nature promoting prospective careers in the Railway sector amongst 11 – 19 years old."
Alex, 18, Gen Y Rail Competitor
“I definitely want to work in the railway. There’s all sorts to get involved with, seeing what there is to get started on. I’m hopefully looking for an apprenticeship; I’ve studied A-level engineering at college.”
Gabriella, 14, Gen Y Rail Competitor
“I think it’ll be really interesting to see what ideas we come up with and to see what other people do as well, for inspiration. It’ll be an experience.”
Jim Hubbard, Director of STEM, Newcastle College
"I would like to thank you for all your time spent coordinating the recent Gen Y Rail event in Newcastle. I very much enjoyed the day and being part of the panel of judges. I have also read the comments on your web site and find them too very stimulating.”
Spencer Hufton, Safety and Compliance Manager, South West Trains
"The day gave a Platform for Southwest Trains to display to the next generation what is great about an Engineering Career within the Railway. The day demonstrated to me that within the age range of 11 to 19 year olds the country has potential engineers however to tap into this the industry must continue to support Gen Y Rail".
Pete Donovan, Apprentice Programme Manager, Network Rail
“It’s been really enjoyable! There’s some great young people here and a lot of opportunities for them.”
Yasemin Tezel, Project Manager, National Skills Acadamy for Railway Engineering - NSARE
“I think kids will go home today and think ‘Actually, I want to go into the rail industry’. Or have some sort of work experience later on, which is so important. It’s good to embed it in their minds from a young age.”
Richard Merrills, Managing Director, SigAssure UK
“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed today, I think it’s been a long time coming. The industry has been asking for something like this for a long time now, and I’ve always been keen to engage with the youth of tomorrow.”
Emily O’Connor, Engineer, Colas
“I think that Gen Y Rail is a fantastic initiative”
David Rogers, STEM advisory network for Tyne and Wear
“There are not enough students with the right skills. The only way to tackle that is through events like today.”
David Ward, British Science Association
The Newcastle event worked extremely well and came together superbly on the day.”
Anna Fraszczyk, Research Assistant, NewRail
"It is amazing to be able to shape a student’s future by showing them a variety of career opportunities the railway sector offers. I think that majority of students have no idea about how this sector works and how modern railways can be! GenYRail is a perfect example of a successful STEM activity promoting a positive image of railways."
Jill Lister, Placement Officer, Gateshead College
"Just a little bit of feedback from our Gateshead College team who attended the event – they thought the Mentor assigned to them was great and assisted well, the very much enjoyed finding out about the different employment areas etc. available within the industry. All in all everyone enjoyed the day and would recommend us sending another team next year."
Rob Hulson, Apprentice & Competency Manager, South West Trains
"The event was in my opinion a great success. We need to encourage and develop these talented young individuals so as to encourage them to think of the Railway industry as an exciting and rewarding place to work."
Read some of the comments posted about the event online here.