Lynette Comrie Graduate Development Manager Regional Focus FEATURE There is a very positive outlook on life I was a fish out of water as, initially, I couldn t find any rugby on TV Jim Claxton Director, Rail Control Systems Dion Church Principal Consultant Words Andrew Bennett Photos Cordelia Noble & Andrea Stenson GHE RADUATE T SCHEME GEARS UP VIEW FROM HERE Now in its 19th year and with around 150 people having passed through the scheme the SNC-Lavalin Rail & Transit Graduate Development Programme continues to evolve and help nurture the organisations stars of the future Words Andrew Bennett Photo (Jim) Keith Friendship Photo (Dion) David A Gilmour T he SNC-Lavalin Rail & Transit Graduate Development Programme which started in the UK was conceived to help university graduates gain their Chartered Engineer status. It is accredited by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) and the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT). This year, the scheme has had its largest intake of graduates, the first full cohort of engineering technicians has passed out, and the programme has again been expanded, to include more specialities beyond the traditional rolling stock discipline. The 2017 Railway Challenge competition win for nine graduate engineers was the third such success for SNC-Lavalin, and this years triumph means the company has held the trophy for two years in a row. In the national competition, run by IMechE, 11 teams competed to design and manufacture the best, most innovative, efficient and quietest small-scale locomotive. These had to be designed to work on a 10-inch gauge line at a miniature railway and be powerful enough to transport a 600kg load including one of the Railway Challenge judges. Determination pays off The success of three technicians who finished a demanding programme of study while working is testament to the schemes strength, as well as the determination of the individuals concerned. Lynette Comrie, Graduate Development Manager, said this was a huge milestone for the company. Our first cohort of technicians was three now we have had 15. We remain committed to having a technician pipeline, as the scheme has been really successful; it is a great achievement to have our technicians graduating through the programme, she said. While the majority of graduates work in rolling stock engineering, SNC-Lavalins scheme has proved flexible. This year, the graduate development team has recruited university students with an interest in control systems, to build specific skills in that area. A learning and placement scheme is also available for those who wish to We are seeing those who have work in the Transport Advisory part of the business, showing the programme been through the scheme can hone a wide range of talent. In recent months, Lynette has been helping the HR team within SNCbecome leaders within our Lavalins Swedish business, which welcomed its first intake of graduates in organisation and our clients September. organisations Scandinavian knowledge exchange Lynette Comrie As the UK graduate scheme is well-established, Lynette was able to make Graduate Development Manager suggestions to Frida Engleson, Multidiscipline Adviser in HR, who leads the Swedish programme. These have helped shape the content leading to professional registration of their young engineers. Its a case of taking our existing programme and moulding it to suit their business, said Lynette. Essentially, that is what they have done in the Swedish team. Their scheme will be shorter, because of differences in education and what is normal in Sweden [in terms of a graduate scheme]. Frida commented: We are so happy to have this type of introduction programme for the competence framework for our new employees. Elsewhere, graduates from the UK have been building their skills by working remotely to support the new Emerging Professionals Network (EPN) for North America (see panel below). Two British graduates and a technician have assisted by helping to create platformsfor the EPN members to share knowledge a key objective of thenetwork.The UK team was invited totheEPNs annual conference in TorontoinJuly, which included an opportunity to visit the Eglinton Crosstown project. The North American team aims to start itsown graduate programme, and Lynette added: Our graduates learned quitealot in terms of what is happening in North America, and they learned softerskillsin terms of communication and working with a remote team in a different time zone. She concluded: I believe the SNC-Lavalin Rail & Transit graduate scheme will continue to grow over the next 10 years and beyond. The biggest benefit in having a scheme in house is helping to create our future workforce and leaders. We are seeing them become leaders within our organisation and our clients organisations. The programme supports our culture of knowledge sharing and engaging people, and our employees can see we areinvestingin the future of our staff and their development, which is an important factor. viewpoint@snclavalin.com Supporting our emerging talent To ensure SNC-Lavalins staff can build their careers on strong foundations, an Emerging Professionals Network (EPN) was launched in North America in 2016. The EPN which has around 170 members, mainly based in Canada and the USA aims to become a global network, and is sponsored by Kevin George, Vice-president, Rail & Transit Engineering for North America. Recently, the network has collaborated with SNC-Lavalin graduates in the UK, to improve ways of sharing knowledge. As well as engineers, members include finance and proposals staff, and the EPN isopen to SNC-Lavalin employees with less than 10years career experience. Managed by the emerging professionals, the network holds events to promote knowledge sharing, and encourages networking and team building. EPN members have attended lunch and learn sessions and an annual conference, undertaken site visits including a tunnel tour of the Eglinton Crosstown transit scheme in Toronto (see page 21 for a project update) and enjoyed social events. Young professionals have opportunities to meet senior SNCLavalin executives and, as well as learning from highly experienced staff, the EPN members can share their perspectives. Anup Suresh, a Systems Integration Engineer in Training (EIT), based in Toronto, works on the Eglinton project, and is an EPN committee member for Canadas Central Region. He said: Being part of the network has been a great experience for me. I would encourage everyone to get involved. The EPN has provided me with a strong platform to enhance my personal development and its contributing towards shaping the company for thefuture. Kevin George said: We established the EPN concept to empower our millennials to take ownership of their early career development and gain exposure to work experience beyond snclavalin.com Anup Suresh Systems Integration EIT their particular area of expertise. Im very pleased to see theyre achieving outcomes way beyond my expectations. Having initially created their own charter, leadership and membership structure, programme of events and budget requirements, theyre now collaborating across regional boundaries, actively engaging with leaders to develop their business management competencies and are hungry for stretch assignments.