STAFF & SKILLS
Next stop: Skills crisis
Huge investment in the UK’s rail infrastructure is placing unprecedented demand on the industry’s engineering workforce. Billions are being poured into track, stations, extensions and the Underground network, and the industry is facing a serious skills crisis, writes Allan Macdonald, project manager for rail at specialist awarding organisation EAL.
T
he hotly-debated HS2 project is set to enhance the UK’s rail network over
the coming years – with the last estimated budget sitting around £42bn. Also, £12bn has been mooted to boost London’s transport system, with Crossrail 2, and that’s only one of the capital’s infrastructure investment projects, with TfL pouring billions more into the Underground. Network Rail will also be injecting £38bn into the construction of new tracks, the renovation of stations and the upgrade of existing lines over the next five years. I could go on.
Of course, all this investment is great news for commuters, businesses and the rail industry, but who is going to carry out all the engineering and installation work? We’re talking about the electrification of thousands of miles of
track; the installation of hundreds of signalling stations; the vast management of traction and rolling stock activities; and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Not only are new staff and apprentices needed in their thousands, but we need to up-skill the current workforce so they are ready for the demands of 21st century rail technology.
EAL continues to work closely with the National Skills Academy for Railway Engineering (NSARE) to ensure the needs of employers will be met – and these needs are growing rapidly. Not only are we facing demand due to new projects, but also because of an ageing and retiring workforce. For example, NSARE has identified that almost 35% of the industry’s traction and rolling stock employees are due to retire in the next five years – that’s over 4,500
of the 13,500-strong workforce.
This is why EAL was invited into the rail sector, to develop and launch new railway engineering qualifications. It is vital that employers are provided with the means to undertake the work of reinvigorating the UK’s rail network – and that means staff with the right skills and knowledge.
Apprenticeships must also play a vital role in the future of the sector, but the number of railway engineering apprentices is woefully low compared with the rest of industry. This needs to change. The future of our rail infrastructure depends on it.
W:
www.eal.org.uk/sectors/785-railway-engineering FOR MORE INFORMATION
rail technology magazine Aug/Sep 14 | 57
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