Partners across the Rail Industry understand a more skilled, equal and diverse workforce increases the chances of upward social mobility and results in a positive impact on society as a whole. A socially mobile workforce is vital to enable society to capitalise on the opportunities the transport sector presents.
NSAR worked alongside government bodies and industry to develop resources for the Strategic Transport Apprenticeship Taskforce (STAT) Driving Social Mobility in Transport initiative.
The initiative was designed to encourage employers to consider a range of programmes to reduce barriers into rail industry employment through the sharing of best practice examples. Programmes included Traineeships, Sector-Based Work Academies, Pathways into Construction, Route Into Work, Internships and more recently Kickstart. Employability training remains a common theme and through the various programmes, opportunities were widened to include people from hard-to-reach backgrounds. These included:
19-24-year-old NEETS (Not in Education, Employment or Training).
People with learning difficulties (including those with Autism, and/or on a SEN (Special Education Needs).
People on an EHC (Education, Health & Care) Plan.
Building on and expanding the adoption of pre-employment training throughout the industry is helping to truly transform the social mobility of our transport workforce.