Episodes

  • Episode 16: Attracting young people into a career in rail

    Episode 16: Attracting young people into a career in rail
    Jul 10 2025

    In the second of our rail industry-focused episodes to celebrate 200 years of the modern railway, Active Training Team’s Director Adam Christopher explores the challenges and opportunities facing the UK rail industry as it looks to attract its future workforce. Speaking with young apprentices, site managers, and industry leaders at the Transpennine Route Upgrade project, the episode reveals how few young people are aware of careers in rail, the strong role of family influence, and the pride and purpose many find in the sector.


    Brands/People References:

    Great British Railways

    TransPennine Route Upgrade (TRU)

    Bam Nuttall

    Network Rail

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    23 mins
  • Episode 15: Railway 200 with Mike and Andrew Lamport

    Episode 15: Railway 200 with Mike and Andrew Lamport
    Feb 12 2025

    In the first of our rail industry-focused episodes, Adam Christopher talks with Mike Lamport and his son Andrew, who work in the railway industry like generations of their family dating back to 1846. They discuss why they’re celebrating Railway 200 and being part of the rail family.


    Brands/People References:

    Railway 200 Campaign

    National Skills Academy for Rail

    Great British Railways / Transition Team

    South Eastern Rail

    South Western Rail + Waterloo Station

    Thomas the Tank Engine

    Great Western Railway + Didcot Station

    West Anglia Great Northern


    Production Team:

    Presented by Adam Christopher

    Produced by Alexandra Quinn

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    19 mins
  • Episode 14: ATT in Scotland. Part 2, Faskally Safety Leadership Centre.

    Episode 14: ATT in Scotland. Part 2, Faskally Safety Leadership Centre.
    May 1 2024
    ‘Get Home Safe’ – behind the scenes at a new ATT immersive training centre. Director of Active Training Team (ATT) Adam Christopher takes a behind the scenes peek at Scottish and Southern Energy’s (SSE) new immersive Faskally Safety Leadership Centre in Perth. It’s a few weeks till the opening and staff from SSE and ATT are busy with final preparations.

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    18 mins
  • Episode 14: ATT in Scotland. Part 1, Pitlochry

    Episode 14: ATT in Scotland. Part 1, Pitlochry
    May 1 2024
    Ahead of the opening of a new ATT immersive training centre for SSE (Scottish + Southern Energy), Director at ATT Adam Christopher travels to the Pitlochry Dam and Visitor Centre where he meets Gillian O’Reilly, the Head of Heritage and Community Programmes for SSE. Gillian tells Adam about the history of hydropower in the area and why training centres have a long connection to SSE’s work in Perthshire.

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    19 mins
  • Episode 13: Leadership, communication and grace: on the EDI journey with Dr Ollie Folayan

    Episode 13: Leadership, communication and grace: on the EDI journey with Dr Ollie Folayan
    Sep 21 2023
    Dr Ollie Folayan is a chemical process engineer with Aberdeen-based consultancy Optimus and a visiting Professor at the University of Dundee. In 2007, he and his sister founded the Association for Black and Minority Ethnic Engineers (AFBE-UK) to attract and retain BME talent into the industry. Ollie talks to ATT Director Adam Christopher about leadership, changing hearts and minds and his experience at Thrive.

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    19 mins
  • Episode 12: How are you feeling? How emotions can make safety lessons more memorable

    Episode 12: How are you feeling? How emotions can make safety lessons more memorable
    Jul 20 2023
    Adam visits UK Construction Week at the Excel Centre in London to talk to people in the industry about what safety means to them and how our emotions impact on our behaviour in the workplace and how we absorb and act on important safety lessons. Paul, a paver ground worker, believes there should be more care and consideration on site; Sarah Meek, Managing Director of the mental health charity Mates in Mind, thinks that when people connect emotionally in safety training, they engage better; and Denise Farquharson, Safety Development and Culture Engagement Officer for HS2, advocates for emotional intelligence as a critical safety skill.

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    17 mins
  • Episode 11: How can story-telling help to keep us safe? The science behind active learning

    Episode 11: How can story-telling help to keep us safe? The science behind active learning
    Apr 20 2023
    In this episode, we investigate why active learning might be a key resource for people in hazardous industries to retain vital information and stay safe. Adam speaks with Dr Natasha Sigala, Senior Lecturer in Neuroscience at the University of Sussex, about neurocognitive patterns and memory structures or, put more simply, how story-telling makes us remember better. https://profiles.sussex.ac.uk/p256526-natasha-sigala

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    15 mins
  • Episode 10, Part 2: Mental Health in construction – where’s the ‘joined-up’ thinking?

    Episode 10, Part 2: Mental Health in construction – where’s the ‘joined-up’ thinking?
    Dec 19 2022
    ATT are back with part two of the discussion on construction's mental health crisis, this time focusing on tangible solutions offered by groundworker, mental health advocate and campaigner, Steve Kerslake, who shares his own experience of mental health issues, and Kerry McLeod from leading mental health charity, Mind.HSE's ‘Core Standards’ framework is suitable for employers of all sizes: https://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/mental-health.htm Trigger warning: this episode deals with discussions around suicide and mental health struggles, so please listen with care. Resources for additional support visit:Samaritans.orgMind.org.uk*Mates in Mind

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    23 mins