New base in Nuneaton will address rail sector skill shortage
Record levels of capital investment have fuelled growth in the UK rail industry which is clearly very welcome news - but the reality of delivering the UK’s multi-billion-pound railway upgrade plan has sparked a skills shortage.
To address this issue, Warwickshire County Council has been working with Trackwork, one of the UK’s leading providers of construction and engineering services for the rail network, to facilitate valuable training in this sector.
Rob Parkin, Training Manager at Trackwork takes up the story:
“Six months ago we were approached by one of our partner employers asking if we could set up training facilities to train new rail engineers from Warwickshire. This was due to a skills gap in this sector. We contacted the local job centres to introduce the rail training services we offer, and to try to attract interest from local people who are unemployed and looking to enter this growing sector.
"We had an excellent uptake of interest from people looking for work in Nuneaton, so we decided to choose Nuneaton as the location for our training delivery centre.
“However, we struggled to find any suitable sites in the area. Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council referred us to Warwickshire County Council and we had an amazing response from the County Council’s Inward Investment Manager, Ian Flynn and the rest of the team. Without their support we would never have got started.
Rob continues: “We were introduced to contacts at Nuneaton College who were more than happy to be involved and resolve our problem by providing us with the space for our portacabins and test track on the Nuneaton campus, as well as equipment to facilitate training. We have now established our training centre and are delivering Rail Engineering qualifications, including · NVQ Level 2 in Railway Engineering, to our first cohort of learners. They are all being sponsored by our partner employer Ballycommon Rail Services. We expect to train and support more than 70 learners into employment over the coming 12 months.”
“We are so grateful to Ian and the team at Warwickshire County Council for all their assistance, as without it, I don’t think this venture would have progressed.”
Warwickshire is home to rail design and manufacturing companies such as Transport Design International and battery train pioneer Vivarail, and an engineering supply chain that works across automotive, aero and rail. Also based in Warwickshire is Quinton Rail Technology Centre, the UK’s largest independent rail test and development facility, as well as rail leasing company Porterbrook. Meanwhile the University of Warwick is a leader in the development of Very Light Rail Technologies, which is accelerating the transfer of automotive technologies into rail.
The County Council has been working with local partners in Coventry and Warwickshire and regional partners such as Midlands Engine and DIT to promote this UK investment opportunity to potential inward investors and the local supply chain in advanced manufacturing and engineering.
Leader of Warwickshire County Council, Cllr Izzi Seccombe said: "The rail industry is seeing unprecedented investment in the rail network across the UK - in excess of £200bn over the next 15-20 years. We are delighted to have played a part in facilitating this new training facility at North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College, which has the potential to grow the local rail skills supply, and help unemployed residents looking to work in this growing industry."