Ep 4. Changing the narrative around rail, Hollie Woodard

Hollie Woodard – VolkerWessels

Show Notes – RTM Podcast ep. 4

Hollie Woodard, head of equality, diversity and inclusion at VolkerWessels UK, joins us in the studio for the fourth episode of our RTM podcast, talking at length about improving industry diversity and changing the narrative at an early age to make rail a realistic and exciting career prospect for the next generation.

As Hollie explains, it can be hard to tell kids to get excited about rail when previously we’ve spent so long warning them about the “dangers of the railway”. So, how do we make rail sexy? Our guest has a few ideas, as part of this fascinating discussion between VolkerWessels’ head of ED&I and our RTM podcast hosts Matt and Ailsa.

Her current role came about in an unusual manner too; but perfectly represents the kind of person Hollie is. Asked by her organisation what would keep her in the role, then working as a project manager, she opted away from the perhaps expected answers of more money or a promotion in favour of making a real difference in the industry.

As such, VolkerWessels’ first head of equality, diversity and inclusion was born, and in the past two years Hollie has seen significant improvements in the industry, both in her own organisation and beyond. However, there is still plenty more progress to be made too, so tune in to find out an expert’s opinions on just how we can realise this necessary societal and industry shift.

There is a fun element too, as we test the rail industry knowledge of our guest with a news quiz of some of the headlines of that week. How well will she do, and can you beat her?
 
Our guests are important figures across the rail industry and Hollie is no different. Can you afford to miss out on the opportunity to discover how we can best improve and diversify the next generation of rail workers?