Ben Rimmington meets Harry Khan

We've been meeting our senior leaders to find out more about their careers, what makes them tick, and their priorities. In this latest interview, Ben Rimmington, Director General for Net Zero Buildings and Industry chats to Harry Khan, DESNZ Apprentice Economist, in Salford – hot on the heels of National Apprenticeship Week. And unsurprisingly, their shared location (and its many benefits!) was a key talking point.?

(Harry Khan to Ben Rimmington): How did you end up as a Director General in Salford?? ?

I became a civil servant in 1995. I'm coming up to my 30th anniversary in April, which is slightly terrifying!??

I’d had a London-based career initially, but we moved North in about 2011. My wife and I both grew up in Yorkshire and had always wanted to ‘go home’ at some point, and we realised we need to make the move before the kids started secondary school. At that time this was quite an unusual thing to do! I was based in what was then BIS and working out of Sheffield, after that I became a Director and I went to DfT and worked on lots of ‘roads’ aspects - Brexit and COVID response, basically keeping the trucks moving.?

Do you remember when the French shut the border in Kent at Christmas? Did you ever wonder who the poor soul was trying to work that out? That was me!?

So, I was seen as doing a good job as a Director and I was based in the north – but with weekly commuting to London - and then this Salford-based job came up. So, I applied for it and was lucky enough to get it.?? ?

(Harry to Ben): What does it mean to be a DG based in Salford as opposed to being in the South in Whitehall??Do you think it makes a difference?? ?

Well, I hope so. I hope it makes a difference for the other people who aren't based in London to see that you can have a senior career outside the southeast. I got this job in 2021 and at that point I felt quite an outlier in terms of DG and above representation outside the Southeast. But it's really grown since.? ?

I hope we're showing that the top of the Civil Service really is committed to Places for Growth. Hopefully everyone who works at Salford sees that and can see the immediate employment opportunities as well as opportunities for career development.? ?

(Ben to Harry): What’s it been like for you doing your job here in Salford as opposed to London?? ?

When I started, most of my team was based at 1 Victoria Street and I did think 'most of the apprentices will be based in London' and that I'd be at a disadvantage, but I've found that it doesn't matter where you're based, it doesn't matter whether you're in London, or in Salford.?

I don't feel I've lost out in any way - if someone was to ask me 'do I have to move to London to take part in the apprenticeship programme?’ I would say 'no’. And more and more I see senior colleagues moving out of London.?? ?

(Harry to Ben)?Why is it that Salford’s been so successful?? Why do you think we've attracted so many people??

It's obviously down to you and me!?More seriously, the first reason is Greater Manchester and the labour market and the number of communities you can tap into. So many people can travel into Manchester city centre, it's just an obviously sensible place to be outside London. Designating Salford (and Aberdeen) as a second HQ also gives it a sense of status and longevity, and hopefully then you just get a bit of momentum, people hear about it, people see it being successful.? And I'd like to think we get a nice reputation for the kind of place it is to work in and all that kind of stuff as well.? ?

(Harry to Ben): As it’s just been National Apprenticeship Week - what would your advice be to apprentices and to people that start their career journey in the Civil Service??

So, the first thing is - ‘go for it’. These days the apprenticeship route is a really valuable path into the civil service.?I joined via Fast Stream - and that's still a valuable choice for lots of people - but these days routes into senior civil service roles can be much more varied and lots of great people are coming in via apprenticeships now. The other advice I’d give anyone in the Civil Service is - find out what you're interested in and find out what you're good at. When you're thinking about progressing your career ask yourself - will it get me out of bed in the morning??

(Harry to Ben):?What are your priorities for the year ahead??

It's a really big year for the government and setting out their agenda, including across everything we are trying to do. There are going to be a series of quite big strategic moments where we set out plans like the carbon budget delivery plan and the Warm Homes Plan. But we've also got the second half of the spending review which is when we work out how the Government wants to prioritise its investment and how that stacks up against legislative priorities and political ambition. So, my priority is making sure we navigate our way through all that for buildings and industry decarbonization.?? ?

In terms of Salford, I’m hoping we can go from strength to strength. And I think there's still more the senior leaders here in Salford can be doing to really make this a fantastic place to work. I'm also going to risk it and say hopefully we’ll see Leeds United get promoted back to the Premier League.? ?

(Harry to Ben); Moving on to our closing question - what is your favourite thing about where you live?? ?

So, I live just outside Ilkley, West Yorkshire and it's just gorgeous. My favourite thing is just the landscape, because you open the door and off you go into fantastic walking country – you can be in the Dales in half an hour. It’s just a lovely place to be. And that’s one of the great things about our Places for Growth locations more generally – from all of them it's really easy to get to properly beautiful parts of the country. And for me getting out into that natural beauty is really important for mental health and wellbeing.?

You can read more about our DESNZ locations on Civil Service Careers. ?