This month, I have been lucky enough to get out and about and see some of the fantastic skills-building initiatives the industry is busy with.
Global Centre of Rail Excellence (GCRE) Chief Executive Simon Jones and Director of Strategy and Skills Rob Forde gave me a tour of the GCRE site and explained the plans to develop a world-class facility for research, testing, innovation and training. The Centre has an exciting future and provides a real opportunity for training and building social value by getting people from an area of high unemployment into good rail jobs.
During my visits to the SWGR Glasgow Campus and Broadies Engineering at their site in Kilmarnock, I met with some fantastic apprentices bringing talent and new ideas to rail. It is great to see companies committed to providing excellent training opportunities that enable new people to flourish in the industry. I also attended a Women in Rail meeting at the Edinburgh Tram Centre and was delighted to be part of a valuable conversation about leadership and how women can and are supporting each other in their career journeys.
On the apprenticeship front, NSAR’s 15 PlanBEE Rail Associate Project Manager apprentices will be starting their training in mid-September as part of a pioneering apprenticeship to address skills shortages and give young people the chance to launch their careers in the rail industry. During the two-year programme, the apprentices will be employed by NSAR and undertake four six-month placements working for leading organisations in the rail sector including Alstom, AmcoGiffen, Amey, Balfour Beatty, BAM, Keltbray, Morgan Sindall Infrastructure, Murphy, Network Rail, Systra, Transpennine Express and Volker Rail.
This is part of NSAR’s flexi-job apprenticeship agency work. We are looking forward to working with Gateshead College, Network Rail and the supply chain partners over the next two years to deliver a unique and high-quality apprenticeship programme that sets up these 15 young people to succeed in their careers and in rail – and we hope these 15 apprentices are the start of many more to come.
Neil Robertson
NSAR Chief Executive