GROWING A RAIL WOR k FORCE FOR THE FUTURE

Australian rail is experiencing an unprecedented level of investment. To ensure its success the National Rail Skills Hub is helping the industry double its workforce and improve skills portability.

An estimated $155 billion will be invested over the next 15 years to expand and modernise Australia’s rail networks.

More than 70,000 additional people with all kinds of skills are needed to design, build and run the rail system which is being modernised with new digital systems and technology.

As part of a plan to improve the interoperability of rail systems nationally, National Cabinet has asked infrastructure and transport ministers to identify the training needed for the operation of digital rail systems and other new technologies.

Just as important as recruiting new people with digital skills will be retaining experienced workers to ensure the smooth transition between old and new parts of the rail network.

To achieve this, the National Transport Commission (NTC) on behalf of all governments is working with industry to attract a younger, more diverse cohort of workers, retain existing expertise and rethink how it trains its people.

The National Rail Skills Hub has been set up by the NTC to bring education and transport sectors together to address skill shortages and provide a platform for collaboration to create a more skilled and mobile workforce.

Launched by Minister Catherine King in December 2022, the National Rail Skills Hub is working with public and private organisations to put rail on job seekers’ radar and improve and accelerate training pathways.

It is focused on:

♦ Making it easier for all Australians to enter rail at any stage of their career

♦ Aligning the needs of rail enterprises with the VET sector, defining clearer training pathways with qualifications recognised across the country

♦ Attracting a new generation of workers, with a focus on women and young people

♦ Identifying and preparing the industry for skills of the future

Copyright: State of New South Wales (Transport for NSW).

Nationally Recognised Qualifications And Training

Australia’s rail system reflects its history and the evolution of separate state-based networks and private systems with bespoke rules, standards and training approaches.

With 29 networks, three different railway gauges, and eleven separate signalling systems, rail training has been fragmented and conducted at an enterprise level with a lack of clear career pathways or entry points. In many cases, workers’ skills and qualifications are not recognised beyond the enterprise they train in.

NTC’s Head of National Rail Skills, Mandi Mees, said the lack of mutual recognition and portability of skills is the biggest drain on talent, especially in highly technical areas like signalling.

“This impacts productivity and is compounding the skills shortage,” Ms Mees said.

“The National Rail Skills Hub is working with industry and educators to develop a national approach to training, with qualifications that are recognised across the country improving workers’ ability to move around to meet demand.”

The Hub is working with the Australasian Railway Association (ARA) to improve skills portability for drivers, track workers, signallers and other in-demand skills. This includes the development of nationally recognised qualifications and a model for delivering rail skills training.

Digital courseware for Certificate IV in Rail Network Control has been developed first and will be housed on the Hub’s digital platform where it can be accessed by registered training organisations (RTO) across Australia. Currently there are 10 RTOs accredited to deliver the course. By offering course material for free, the Hub is encouraging more organisations to provide the training and freeing up trainers’ time to focus on quality of delivery.

A pilot program for a national Safely Access the Rail Corridor (SARC) accreditation is also underway.

SARC accreditation is required for anyone working in a rail corridor. However, it is not nationally recognised so a rail worker who completed their

SARC competency in New South Wales has to retrain to work in Queensland. The pilot will show how a national approach to developing and delivering entry level rail training courses could work.

Collaboration And Resource Sharing

Through its digital platform, webinars, forums and pilot programs, the National Rail Skills Hub is bringing the education and transport sectors together to tackle the skills challenge. It is encouraging rail enterprises to share resources, training materials and strategies that have been successful at improving skills and attracting workers.

For job seekers, the platform provides training pathways, showing entry points, training requirements and opportunities for career progression. More than 30 pathways are being developed with the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR) and Industry Skills Australia. Ongoing work with the Australasian Railway Association and Engineering Education Australia (EEA) is identifying ways job seekers can accelerate their training to the most in-demand rail roles.

To help lift rail’s profile as a career of choice, the platform features profiles of people working in diverse rail roles, from train driving to cyber security. The workers give insights into how they entered rail – in some cases this is straight from school, in other cases it’s after a successful career in another industry, or having spent time at home parenting. They talk about the experiences their jobs present and the impact of new technology.

Skills For The Future

Rail is forecast to move more passengers and larger volumes of freight than any other mode across Australia’s major cities and freight routes. As a new generation of train signalling and control systems is introduced and integrated with existing networks, old and new skills will be needed.

National Cabinet acknowledges this challenge and has identified a nationally consistent approach to training, mutual recognition of qualifications and finding workforce solutions to meet future demands, as key priorities of the national rail reform program.

To gain a better understanding of what new jobs and skills will be required, the Hub is undertaking a digital skills gap analysis.

The training models it is currently developing can then be used to ensure any gaps are easily plugged, maximising the benefits from the interoperable rail networks of the future.

The National Rail Skills Hub is a key component of the National Rail Action Plan (NRAP), endorsed by Australia’s infrastructure and transport ministers.