Forwarding a career in rail with an upgraded membership

James Veitch has updated from Associate to Member while starting a new job as Driver Manager at London Euston-based Avanti.

Starting out as a Trainee Driver in 2003, James joined the Southeastern Highspeed project in 2009 before taking a role as Driver Instructor in 2013. Following success in this role, James moved up to Highspeed Driver Manager in 2017 before taking this new role as Driver Manager for Avanti.

“The reason I wanted to upgrade my membership was for affirmation and confirmation of my knowledge and experience. I was especially interested in the international aspect of my learning which I do have a bit of experience from working on the French systems.”

In terms of the next steps for James, he is now looking at the long-term goals of a CIRO membership. He explains: “I have experience in training and knowledge sharing when working as a Driver Instructor, I think in the future, the mentoring side will be something I explore. I am hoping that my instructor roots will help me with this, and I can offer guidance for whoever needs it.”

Expanding on the assessment aspect of the membership upgrade, James says: “While I think the experience assessment can be time-consuming, the help of CIRO’s experts, with hints and tips, set me on a path to complete the assessments as simply as possible.”

James recommends keeping a knowledge log, something he describes as containing a large list of skills with details of and how to use each. CIRO offers a range of seminars designed to help members in their application process, as well as the educational courses.

Summarising the membership upgrade, James said: “It was nice to affirm my knowledge through the improved membership level and having the opportunity to get the recognition from my peers that the knowledge is there. I am looking forward to learning more about the business change element to help aid my growth to Fellow.”

CIRO memberships are an ideal way to develop your rail industry knowledge and career.