Alf Robinson is one of Siemens GB&I’s first Black engineers, with a career spanning 30 years with Digital Industries. It was a privilege to listen to Alf’s reflections on being Black at Siemens over the course of his remarkable career. These are Alf’s thoughts.

Thirty Years at Siemens

Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would work for a company like Siemens.

I have Manchester in my blood. I was born in Manchester, Jamaica, and I moved to Manchester, UK at age 14 where I attended Salford College and received the Duke of Edinburgh Award. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would work for a company like Siemens. My mother was so proud! I met some good people, and I am proud to say that I trained some very fine people who have gone to do great things with their careers. This makes me very proud.

Steve Blakeman gave me an opportunity after I was with Siemens for 7 years by making me a Senior Engineer, then a Team Lead. I will never forget that he thought of me in that way. I was a Team Lead at Siemens for 15 years, then for personal reasons I stepped back, and one of the people I had trained became my manager. It was a little difficult at first, but we have figured out how to make it work. In the end, I was always proud of my role as Team Lead and grateful that I was given this opportunity. Everyone keeps asking when am I going to retire? But, I am not quite ready yet!

We did not see race or level in the company. We were just teammates who loved playing football

Over the years, I wanted to be more involved at Siemens and I always felt a need to give back. I was part of the Manchester Charity committee, I helped create our Siemens football team, and I organised our Children in Need efforts. Football links all Siemens together, and I am honoured that I was able to start up a team here where colleagues from all levels at Siemens – including directors, managers, commercial, engineers, grads, men, and women – all played together. We did not see race or level in the company. We were just teammates who loved playing football.

It was so special to hear how highly they thought of me.

I think I have done well at Siemens, which was helped by my being very involved in the football team and the Manchester Charity committee. I knew the senior leaders at Siemens including Jürgen Maier and Robin Phillips, so maybe when others saw me speaking to them, they treated me a little better because they thought that I must be someone important, too? On my 25th work anniversary celebration, everyone I had invited to attend had accepted, and that that made my wife and I so happy! At the dinner, each of my 12 guests got up to toast me personally. It was so special to hear how highly they thought of me. I honestly did not realise people thought that way of me.

Being Black at Siemens

I was one of only a few Black people in the office for many years, and I have been here 30 years now. Unfortunately, there hasn’t been a lot of change since I started – there are basically the same number of Black colleagues now as when I started 30 years ago. This has got to change.

You cannot tell if I am Black or white just by my name ‘Alf Robinson’, and it’s been fine with customers over the phone. But, when I go to meet them in person, some customers do look at me funny because I was…unexpected. In the end, they appreciate that I know what I’m talking about when I am on a site visit, but that initial surprise that ‘Alf Robinson is Black?’, is a funny thing.

…people who criticise us in this way, do not see all the hardships and barriers that we have.

Maybe Black people have been unlucky in opportunities for jobs or promotions. We do not have the same networks and connections that other people in the company do, so this holds us back – having connections and a network that includes Siemens leaders is a necessary step in getting promoted.

Sometimes, others tell us we are not getting promoted in our careers because we do not network or grab opportunities, but people who criticise us in this way, do not see all the hardships and barriers that we have. The system prevents us from this next step, so I can see why Black colleagues might think ‘why should l even try’. That’s why it’s important we reach out to each other, and that other colleagues who are not Black also reach out to support us. Steve Blakeman sponsored me and believed in me, and that trust and respect was something I will never forget.

On George Floyd‘s Murder and Windrush

Not again.

When it happened, my daughter was very upset and just kept saying “not again”. All my family and I could think was that it could have been us, and this has gone on far too long. It happened in the 1970s and 1980s, and I thought these racial attacks were finished back then, but I think it is far worse now. This was the same reaction to the Windrush scandals – what if my parents had come over to Britain on the Windrush? That could have been us; then me and my children would have had to fight from being deported. It’s even harder to understand when I see the government offer free citizenship to people in other countries. So, at the same time the Windrush scandal was happening, and they were trying to deport generations of Black British residents, they were offering citizenship to people who had never lived in the UK. It hurts that the government thinks more of people who have never lived here, than the Blacks who were born and raised here.

We should not have to teach our kids to fear the police who are supposed to serve us all.

I have twin children – a boy and a girl. My daughter’s skin is lighter than her brother’s and mine, so sometimes when I was out with her, people did not believe she was my daughter. My son was always stopped on bike rides when he was younger, and we were scared. None of his white friends were stopped. We had to teach him to be polite, do not talk back, do not act aggressively so that he did not give the officers or anyone else a reason to hurt or arrest him, and do not fall into the stereotype they have of us. Black people are always targeted and stopped much more than other people by the police. We should not have to teach our kids to fear the police who are supposed to serve us all. This is wrong and has gone on for far too long.

As Black people, this is our world, and young people are seeing it now, and they know it is wrong. I look at places like Australia and other countries where so many non-Blacks are protesting alongside the Black community and I feel hopeful that things are starting to change. These young people are more intelligent now than we used to be at that age. I love seeing these young Black people in the media now, who are so confident, bright, and passionate when talking about these things, even when the media turns their back on them. They know how to handle themselves.

…people are no longer scared to talk about race.

This past year since George Floyd’s death has been hard, but I am so glad to see that when the topic of racism comes up, people are no longer scared to talk about race. We are having these discussions now and thinking about how we are affected by our race, which is not something that anyone wanted to talk about before. Now white people are seeing and hearing about what we go through as a Black community. Someone once told me it was like reading a book of fiction; something they read about but never really saw or believed until now. Now, they are seeing it in the media and seeing it happen to Black people every day, and they are incredulous at what we go through.

Looking Forward

It is very important for the Black community to see Black people working at Siemens, so they do know it is possible.

I would like my Allies and colleagues to be more deliberate in their actions to support us. They should target colleges and universities to encourage more Black students to work at Siemens. They should attend open days and career events that are held in Black communities, otherwise they will not want to work for a company like Siemens, or the Black community will think Siemens is out of reach. They hear ‘engineering’ and ‘Siemens’, and think it is not a place they would ever be chosen to work, so why bother applying? Even now, people don’t believe me when I say that I have been working for Siemens for 30 years! It is very important for the Black community to see Black people working at Siemens, so they do know it is possible. Representation matters.

I have had a wonderful career spanning 30 years. I have been good to Siemens, and Siemens has been good to me. I have achieved more than I ever thought possible working for Siemens.

I have been good to Siemens, and Siemens has been good to me.
Alf Robinson