Peer review: Terence Watson
UK Country President and Transport Managing Director - UK & Ireland, Alstom. Rail Supply Group Co-chairman
As Neil highlights, now is a critical time for rail. We have a potentially thrilling decade ahead of us, with massive investments. But we risk throwing some of our opportunities away because of our poor people management. The facts are stark, the challenges enormous and, let’s be frank, we’ve been too slow in responding.
We face a mass exodus of skilled people leaving through retirement, and still with not much more than a trickle of new blood coming in. The need to replenish our workforce with a new generation of highly skilled workers and new, cross-disciplinary skills – in planning, operations, commercial and project management – is urgent. And we have to appeal to a new generation with fresh language and new ideas. As my colleague on the Rail Supply Group, Paul Francis, often says, we need to appeal to the ‘X Box’ railway generation, not the ‘Hornby’ railway generation.
NSARE’s analysis and proposals are central to the industry’s response. They are a sobering reminder of the challenge we face in upskilling and replacing the aging workforce – a challenge that is only compounded with every passing month. It is a scandal that currently only two universities offer rail-related first degrees, in stark contrast to the 40+ aerospace and automotive degrees available. We are in competition for people with these industries. We should be way ahead, not playing catch up.
We have a lot going for us. The Government recognises that rail is a vital part of delivering one of its top priorities: a big improvement in the UK’s productivity. Rail adds productive potential worth up to £10.2 billion a year to the economy and generates £9.3 billion of GVA a year. An efficient transport system moves people and goods up and down the country, allows businesses to cluster and enables innovation to spread. It opens up labour markets, catalyses urban regeneration and promotes socio-economic development. In a congested island economy, the value of a world class rail network cannot be understated.
So now is the time to demonstrate that our industry aims to be at the heart of the resurgence in UK productivity. We can’t do that without a new generation of skilled people and engineers – from all walks of life.
The National Training Academy for Rail (NTAR) is an excellent start and a key example of the industry collaboration required. The facility and curriculum on offer now needs promoting across the industry and vertically through the supply chain, from Tier 1 companies to SMEs. Likewise, the development of the National College for High Speed Rail will be an important building block for the industry, and we must get its focus right.
How we market ourselves to attract young people to a career in rail is fundamental, especially with regards to improving diversity. There is much we can learn from the ‘Ambassador’ programme run by the aerospace and automotive sectors here. I welcome the positive moves by Government in increasing the number of apprenticeships and consideration of an Apprenticeship Levy on larger employers (although the language could do with some modernising). This must take place at a devolved regional level to work alongside LEPs and local business to ensure that it is inclusive of the needs of SMEs.
The Rail Supply Group (RSG), which I chair with Patrick McLoughlin and Sajid Javid - is providing strategic guidance to the industry on the big challenges ahead. We are developing a Rail Industrial Strategy and working closely with Network Rail, the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) and Department for Transport (DfT), so that for the first time this will provide a coherent and comprehensive plan of action from the supply side of the industry. NSARE is at the centre of our People and Skills work stream as the established delivery unit for an Industry Skills Strategy. The RSG vision is to transform the capability and competitiveness of the UK rail supply chain, at home and abroad. We intend to attract the very best UK talent to create a sustainable skills base and develop new technologies.
Britain is the home of the railway. For too long that has meant we have been considered antiquated and outdated. But with technological advances, high speed rail, the digital customer, ETCS and electrification, we are at the dawn of a new era. We have new opportunities that we must grasp with both hands, so that we can revitalise a proud tradition of British leadership in rail.
