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Full steam ahead Alex Pond, Managing Director at Intertrain, a City & Guilds business explains how diversifying the rail industry can tackle skills shortages
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s businesses across the UK grapple with major skills shortages, in part thanks to the impact of Covid-19 on the jobs market, many industries are struggling to run efficiently and at full power. Of course, skills shortages and recruitment issues are not new to the rail industry. Back in 2020, our Back on Track research which we wrote in collaboration with the National Skills Academy for Rail (NSAR) found that the rail industry would need between 7,000 and 12,000 additional workers each year for the next five to ten years to be able to close skills gaps in the industry. As identified in the report, one of the most significant – and existing – factors at play is the rail industry’s ageing workforce. With 28 per cent of the rail workforce aged over 50, and some 15,000 workers due to retire by 2025, the sector is vulnerable to a huge exodus of experienced talent in the very near future. This means that the industry desperately needs new talent – but it’s struggling to recruit, especially younger people and those from already under-represented groups. Indeed, our research found that only 16 per cent of the current rail workforce are female, and just 24 per cent of women would consider a career in rail (compared to 41 per cent of men). In addition, 26 per cent of 18 to 24-year olds say they would consider a career in rail, compared to 39 per cent of 35 to 44-year olds and 27 per cent of those from ethnic minority groups would consider working in rail, compared to 32 per cent of white people. It’s clear that opening up the talent pool to include a more diverse range of candidates – including women, younger generations and people from ethnic minority groups – could be a key solution to help fuel the UK’s rail talent pipeline. But there’s a lot of work to do here to improve the way the industry is perceived among these groups, to create an inclusive working environment, and raise awareness of all the great opportunities on offer. So, what steps can employers in the industry take to widen their prospective talent pool and bring more diverse people and skills into their business for the coming months and years ahead?
Promoting flexible, inclusive roles A perceived lack of flexibility in careers in rail is undoubtedly excluding certain groups from entering the industry – women being the prime example. For example, our Back on Track research found that more women than men cited the need to travel away from home (20 per cent vs 13 per cent) as reasons why they would not consider a career in the rail industry. With women more likely to have caring responsibilities outside of work, it's natural that they’d require more flexibility and sociable hours. And whilst some jobs in the industry may of course entail unsociable working hours and necessitate a journey from home - it's most definitely not the case for all. If employers want to recruit from a wider, more diverse talent pool, they should consider how they can demonstrate which roles are more accessible and flexible, and therefore more appealing to
women and other groups currently left out of the industry. Our Back on Track research found that people from ethnic minority groups were more likely than their white counterparts to say that they didn’t know enough about careers in the rail sector (53 per cent vs 41 per cent), so clearly careers advice and guidance targeted at people from these groups could help to attract more people to the industry. Recognising that some people entering the industry might need training or upskilling, employers should consider widening the eligibility criteria for their training schemes, by offering training opportunities for applicants who might not have exactly the right experience or credentials. And when it comes to training and upskilling, flexibility matters here too, as some employees might struggle to fit this around their responsibilities. To help people Rail Professional
