NSAR were proud to support Entrepreneurs in Action (EiA) in setting the 2016 Classroom to Boardroom business challenge. This annual event is a great opportunity for college students to gain an increased understanding of business and enterprise, and a good feel for what it is like to be part of a real business assignment.
To endorse the first ever Rail Week, Rose Masih and Geoff Lowdell of NSAR devised a challenge based around this. On Monday 20th June, they received a warm welcome at Woodbridge College to set the 16 students the challenge: “Propose exciting and innovating activities and events for Rail Week to inspire a generation of young people to become involved with the rail sector”. The group of students - who are all in the first year of their A-levels – then had just three days to work together to research, plan and rehearse their response to this challenge before travelling to the NSAR Boardroom in London to present for 40 minutes in front of their teachers and panel consisting of Neil Robertson, NSAR CEO, and George Chilcott and Olivia Williams of Young Rail Professionals (YRP). The students were encouraged to work as a team and be creative, and they didn’t disappoint. They delegated roles, all took turns to present, and tackled many industry challenges head on, such as diversity imbalance and an ageing workforce.
The panel were impressed by their ideas which included Bobby the Bullet train, the Rail Week mascot, a Rail Week app, and ‘Live Tracks’ – a music festival for young people offering a chance to network with industry professionals and access careers information. “To achieve all this in a short space of time and to such a high standard is highly commendable”, stated Neil Robertson, “At NSAR, we promote the rail industry as an exciting career opportunity to young people whilst inspiring and encouraging the next generation of industry talent. The students clearly embodied this approach, and I look forward to seeing them in the rail industry in the future!”