News
The Rail Alliance and GBSLEP launched the GBSLEP Rail Mentor programme this week at KPMG’s offices in Birmingham as part of the “Powering Midlands Green Growth” event. The programme is designed to reach out to SMEs in the Greater Birmingham and Solihull region and provide a gateway to the business opportunities in rail, particularly in light of HS2.
Rail Mentor is a focussed initiative facilitating an accelerated introduction into the rail supply chain and is open to all companies with the only limit being that the organisation must have an operating base in the GBSLEP area. Companies at the top end of the supply chain supporting the programme include organisations such as Alstom, Siemens, Bombardier, Hitachi, Network Rail, HS2, West Midlands Trains and the Rail Delivery Group. Participants signing up for the programme will benefit from the opportunity to shape a product or service to the needs of a Top Tier Company in a highly supportive environment. Top Tier companies will offer chosen applicants access to their management team, meeting space at their facilities and coaching in their specific supply chain requirements.
Jim Panter, Rail Mentor Manager said,
“We are absolutely delighted to be working with the GBSLEP team to support companies in this region wanting to either get into rail as a sector or to leverage more business opportunities. The support from the top of the supply chain has been extremely encouraging and we have engaged with a number of the top tier organisations, manufacturers and principal contractors who have pledged their commitment to this programme and the companies who register.”
Mike Lyons, GBSLEP Board Director for Improving Connectivity, commented,
“HS2 and other connectivity projects in Greater Birmingham and Solihull are already making a significant impact on the local economy by helping to kickstart regeneration schemes, attract investment and create jobs.
The Rail Mentor initiative will help local companies within the rail supply chain to unlock their potential, by giving them unique access to senior decision makers from the sector. The scheme will enable our SMEs to anticipate and address the needs of potential customers – helping them to better access the rail industry’s supply chain, and win more business as a result.”
This free scheme presents a broad range of invaluable commercial opportunities. For more details please click here or alternatively there will be a seminar at next week’s Advanced Engineering show on the 31 October on “Get into Rail” where delegates can find out more about the programme from Jim Panter who will be presenting there. The seminar and show are both free to attend, click here for more information.