Training and Skills Support

The National College for Advanced Transport & Infrastructure (NCATI) is dedicated to closing the rail sector’s skills gap, offering an ever-evolving and demand-led curriculum that provides industry with the right skills at the right time

NCATI was set up in 2017 with support from employers across the transport and infrastructure sector to create their highly skilled workforce, leaving a skills legacy for the industry and the wider UK economy. Back in 2020, the National Skills Academy for Rail (NSAR) and City & Guilds conducted a study that predicted profound skills shortages affecting the rail workforce over the next five years. According to the report's headline figures, the problem was twofold, relating both to retention of current staff (with over 28 per cent of rail workers nearing retirement) and to attraction of new recruits (with very low representation from young people, women, and those from BAME backgrounds). These challenges in retention and attraction remain in 2023 – compounded by the government’s ongoing investment in transformational projects like HS2, as well in existing railway infrastructure, which continue to put a focus on new skillsets that do not currently exist in abundance within the UK job market. They also sit at the heart of why NCATI was established, and why its mission to train up new and current talent in the skills needed now and into the future remains just as vital today.

A new apprenticeship offer

Key to this mission is ensuring that NCATI trains people in the right skills, at the right time, something that we can only achieve by listening to our employer partners and responding to industry demand. A notable example of this industry responsiveness is the recent extension of our apprenticeship offer, which now includes the following standards from levels 3 to 6:

Rail-specific apprenticeships

• Level 3 Train Driver

• Level 3 Rail Infrastructure Operator

• Level 3 Rail Engineering Technician

• Level 4 Rail Engineering Advanced Technician

• Level 4 Passenger Transport Operations Manager

• Level 5 Rail & Rail Systems Engineer

• Level 6 Rail & Rail Systems Senior Engineer (Integrated Degree)

Professional services apprenticeships

• Level 3 Business Administrator

• Level 4 Business Analyst.

• Level 4 Associate Project Manager

• Level 4 Land Referencer

• Level 4 Asset Manager

• Level 4 Data Analyst

• Level 6 Project Manager (Integrated Degree)

Engineering apprenticeships

• Level 3 Engineering Technician

• Level 3 Maintenance and Operations Engineering Technician

• Level 4 Electrical Power Networks Engineer

• Level 4 Building Energy Management Systems Controls Engineer

NCATI is always looking to forge new partnerships in the area of apprenticeships and invite you to get in touch if there is something the College provides that you would like to recruit apprentices to, or if there is something it doesn’t currently provide but you would be interested in running to address a particular skills gap in your area.

For instance, NCATI recently worked with the Society of Land Referencers to create the brand-new Level 4 Land Referencer apprenticeship standard and welcomed the first ever cohort of Land Referencer apprentices onto our Birmingham campus back in October. This demonstrates the mutually beneficial relationship that arises from employers and education providers working together, something that NCATI’s partners at the University of Birmingham champion in their work with companies across the sector.

University of Birmingham Group

The University is demonstrably committed to investing in rail, recognising the sector’s skills gap and also having the expertise and resources to confront it head-on. It is one of only two higher education providers in the UK offering an undergraduate railway degree, and one of three offering a postgraduate programme in rail engineering.

With over 550 students registered onto their rail programmes in the UK and Singapore, it is by far the largest provider of Level 6 and Level 7 academic qualifications in rail, offering additional and specialised progression routes for those interested in the sector or those who want to upskill.

Since being incorporated into the University of Birmingham Group in April 2021, NCATI has benefited hugely from this collaboration. We have been able to draw upon the University’s rail expertise in the form of shared lecturers and curriculum development, most notably in the delivery of the Level 5 Rail & Rail Systems Engineer apprenticeship for companies like Network Rail, Siemens and Bechtel.

Learners at the College are also benefiting: with the University’s track record of high-calibre delivery and a results-driven approach, students can be confident they are being trained by the best, in the skills needed now and into the future. This renewed focus on quality and improved learner outcomes within NCATI is essential to attracting the thousands of talented people needed by the sector over the next decade.

End-to-end employer support

In addition to attracting new people into the industry, NCATI is also dedicated to inspiring those already within the sector to help gear up their organisation’s skills and talent pipelines. This means working closely with rail employers to upskill their current employees, as well as investing in and taking on new apprentices.

One of the most common obstacles to employer uptake of apprenticeships is capacity, or lack thereof. Choosing to outsource training to a dedicated education provider like NCATI removes a significant portion of the administrative burden associated with apprenticeships: we not only deliver the training, but also now provide a wholesale support service for each apprentice and their employer, including apprentice recruitment, funding guidance, and dedicated account management.

NCATI is putting this apprenticeship support service front and centre of its offer, and this is reflected in the makeup of its team. Since its relaunch in 2021, the team has built up a robust and responsive Employer Engagement function, with each member of the team ready to support employer partners every step of the way, from understanding how apprenticeships work and how to make the most of their levy, to providing regular and tailored updates on their apprentices’ progress while studying with NCATI.

A joint industry effort

Intrinsic to NCATI’s mission is the forging of successful partnerships with organisations across the rail sector, working together to make sure that these partnerships help provide the skilled workforce of the future with the right equipment, the right courses, and the right career opportunities.

To this end, the College is developing Industry Forums, in which it invites organisations across the sector to engage and discuss how best we can support each other in providing skilled employees to the sector, be it through apprenticeship recruitment, mentoring, or recognition towards contractor obligations (for example HS2’s Skills, Employment and Education outputs).

If you’re interested in engaging with the College or finding out more about the work it does, please get in touch as the College would really welcome support in addressing the sector’s skills challenges. You can find out more about studying at NCATI by getting in touch via the contact information below.

Tel: 0330 120 0375

Email: enquiries@ncati.ac.uk.

Visit: www.ncati.ac.uk