The second apprenticeship spotlight as part of #Railway200 Wales and Borders people series, here we introduce Becca. Becca is one of the 2025 Shortlisted Nominees for the Young Rail Professionals’ Apprentice of the Year Award.
I’m Becca, the Access and Inclusion Co-ordinator at Transport for Wales. I have been working here for just over a year now, and I feel like I’m just getting started!
I have always loved transport networks, specifically light rail systems; there is a special place in my heart for the London Underground! Growing up in Manchester, I often used the Metrolink and loved how easy it was to get around the city centre using it. At the age of 6, the ability to jump on and off a train every few minutes to get from A to B to C, gave me a great sense of adventure.
When I got a bit older, I started catching the virgin (now Avanti) Pendolino from Manchester to London to see friends and this was the first step of me gaining independence. My disability makes it difficult for me to get out and about, so the sense of freedom that being on a train gave me and still gives me, is invaluable. At a time when I faced barriers to doing almost everything else, trains were my safe haven where I felt the most confident and self-assured. I have since travelled all over the UK and make the most of my staff travel pass as often as I can.
It was at university where I first took the opportunity to exploit my life-long passion for accessibility and inclusion, joining the committee of the Disabled Students Group where I advocated for students with a range of different needs, and made a concerted effort to focus on inclusion for those who may otherwise be isolated, creating accessible monthly drop-in events where our members could socialise and raise any disability-related issues they were facing.
My current role involves working closely with our Accessibility Panel, which has allowed me to continue very similar work to my previous voluntary role but whilst knowing I am having a real impact on communities and people across our network. When I found out this role existed, that allowed me to work in rail, whilst utilising my biggest passion of increasing access and inclusion, I had no choice but to apply! I am responsible for co-ordinating the panel’s monthly meetings and one of the most rewarding parts of my role is instructing project managers on how to present information to panel members in a way that is accessible to them.
I am passionate about raising awareness of digital accessibility and alternative formats and would like to continue this work across the organisation to ensure that policies and materials are as inclusive as possible for all, including neurodivergent colleagues and customers. As a neurodivergent person myself, I have experienced the barriers to public transport faced by this community first-hand. This makes me highly motivated to challenge these and break them down so that everyone can experience the joy of public transport, and the sense of independence and freedom it can provide for people who may not otherwise have it.
I believe accessibility is non-negotiable across public transport and any improvements to infrastructure must be made with individuals in mind, to allow a seamless experience which enables people to be as independent as possible, whilst still having support available for those who need it. I am a big believer in a holistic service and although I am acutely aware that it may not be possible to make things accessible and inclusive for every single person at once, I am determined to spend my career trying to get as close to that ideal as possible!
Gaining employment through an apprenticeship role has given me an invaluable resource in being able to meet other apprentices from different departments in my organisation that I wouldn't ordinarily have contact with, allowing me to develop a deeper understanding of the rail industry and how it works.
My favourite part of my role is interacting with the panel members, especially during site visits. The knowledge and expertise they have is invaluable and I have learnt so much from them about different disabilities and how these affect people’s experiences on public transport. I recently sat on an interview panel to recruit new volunteers and had the most enjoyable experience speaking to people from all walks of life who all shared one common goal: making public transport more accessible and inclusive. I have seen the railway become significantly more accessible for more and more people in recent years, and I am very much looking forward to seeing how this work can continue in the future, and how I can be a part of it.
