Rail Profile: John Rowell

John enjoys the variety in his role and has pushed forward in his career by taking on new challenges and volunteering whenever opportunities present themselves, which is something he would encourage others to do. 

What is your role?

I have worked in my current department for 10 years, but have worked for British Steel for 15 years, my current role is Movement Controller. 

What does your day-to-day role involve? 

The focus of my current role is to look at the jobs from other departments requiring movements, looking at the movements they need with the locos, I then dish those jobs out to the different drivers and make sure they are aware of what is going on, on site and make sure they are safe and the delivery is on time.

I started out as a contractor in the cleaning gang in the BOS plant with Heckett Multiserve. After a year I moved over to the slab yard in a production role, where I was for three years. I gained various licences during this period including my crane licence and my bobcat licence, as a result I felt invested in and then after a while I got taken on by British Steel.

What do you enjoy about your job?

I enjoy that every day is different, lots of different challenges that we see every day. I get to see all sides of the works and also get to work both indoors and outdoors, so it keeps you interested.

Where do you see yourself in 5 or 10 years' time within British Steel?   

My aim is to keep moving up the ranks, I started at the bottom and want to keep moving up.

What advice would you give to other people considering a career with us?   

I volunteer for everything, the company is willing to support you if you’re willing to give something a go. The company is focused on teamwork, getting you to learn lots of different roles, so I would encourage others to volunteer and do as much as you can.