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▲ Alec Gillam , NCATI ; Christine Fernandes , CAF ; Will Rogers , East Midlands Railway ; John Hall , Davis Wagon Services ; Nick Andrew , CWE ; and Nigel Worthington ,
Cards on the table : preparing for future generations
Over the coming years there are big investment plans for the rail sector , including network upgrades , reinvigorating abandoned stations and modernizing rail technology . Yet , with an ageing workforce nearing retirement and a younger generation perhaps less interested in a career in rail - what can the sector do to encourage young people to jump on board ? This is one of the questions we hope to address in our ‘ Talent Track ’ campaign , which started by bringing together several leading experts from both academia and the rail industry to debate what the barriers are to rail as a career choice and what needs to be done to overcome the challenges presented by the NSAR report .
The range of participants made for a useful , robust discussion and debate on relevant issues around the relationship between academia and the industry , attracting apprentices and talent into the sector and encouraging greater diversity .
The findings from the discussion are detailed in our report - Keeping Talent on Track : Addressing the skills shortage in the rail sector - where a number of key areas were addressed .
Building an environment that everyone can see themselves in
When it came to diversity , one point that really stood out from one participant was : “ I know good undergraduates , very skilled people , who wouldn ’ t consider rail because it ’ s not the right environment for them as it doesn ’ t look like them .”
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