A Career in Rail Transport
Rail is an environmentally-friendly way to transport people and freight around the
country. There is a wide range of career opportunities fuelled by the fast growth
of the sector, and a demand for enthusiastic people with new ideas to meet the
challenges ahead.
The work
Train operators like Virgin, First or National Express run passenger train services
and want people who can look after their customers at stations or on their
trains. They also want people to drive their high speed or metro trains and
technicians to look after their complex equipment.
Network Rail is the national organisation that looks after the rail track and
signals and needs people who understand how to make a complex system work
efficiently. Many other organisations supply goods and services, such as
caterers, consultants and contractors. Designing and building trains is an
international industry, with multinational companies using their worldwide
experience. There are also public sector jobs working for government departments
or agencies.
The skills
The following general skills will normally be required:
- People skills – customer
care and teamworking
- Technical skills – IT
and engineering skills for some roles
- Commercial skills –
understanding the marketplace and optimising resources
Entry requirements
The variety of different jobs in the rail transport sector means that there are
several different routes into the sector. There are opportunities for entry
straight from school or college and a range of graduate career pathways in technical
and operational disciplines. At entry level good maths, English and IT skills are in
demand and for more senior roles, technical and business-related qualifications are in
demand, along with the range of soft skills highlighted above.
There are apprenticeship opportunities in rail services and engineering, so it is
worth visiting the Apprenticeship websites to see what is available (there are separate
sites for each of the four nations):
Salary and career development
Salary levels will vary according to the job role. On qualification,
apprentices will earn in the region of £13,500, and the salary for the graduate
scheme with Network Rail is £24,500 and graduate schemes with one of the train
operating companies will attract the around the same salary level.
There are a number of professional and vocational qualifications available to
support career progression in the rail industry and many employers will actively
support employees to study.
Employers
The railway industry encompasses many organisations and the range of jobs is
huge:
- Train operating
companies
- Track maintenance
and renewal
- Train builders and
repairs
- Specialist leasing
companies
- Light railway and
metro underground
- Freight and parcel
services
Contacts
For more information on careers in the rail industry visit the following
websites:
- www.ciltuk.org.uk The Chartered Institute of
Logistics and Transport is the leading professional association for those involved in
all aspects of logistics and transport.
- www.ice.org.uk Institution of Civil Engineers
the professional body for those working in all aspects of civil engineering around the
world, including rail engineering.
- www.railwayoperators.org exists to
advance and promote the safe, reliable and efficient operation of the railways and the
site includes information about learning and development opportunities.
- www.riagb.org.uk Railway Industry Association
represents UK-based railway suppliers to the world’s railways – many RIA
Members have vacancies so try searching the directory by product or service, or by town
or postcode.
- www.rfg.org.uk Rail Freight Group has over 100
member companies ranging from customers such as retailers through to logistics
providers, suppliers, terminal operators, ports and freight train operating
companies.
- www.deliveringyourfuture.co.uk
careers information from Skills for Logistics and further general information is
available on their main website at www.skillsforlogistics.org which includes the
Professional Development Stairway that gives information about career pathways.
- www.careersinpassengertransport.org
careers information from GoSkills the Sector Skills Council for passenger transport in
the UK with additional information available on the main site www.goskills.org. People 1st and GoSkills merged in
July 2011, which means that hospitality, passenger transport, travel and tourism fall
under the same umbrella and can be accessed centrally at – www.people1st.co.uk.
- www.nsare.org National Skills Academy for Railway
Engineering provides information about training opportunities and employers.
- www.trackandtrain.org.uk The Track
& Train graduate training programme is supported by 27 companies across the
sector.
- www.modern-railways.com a source of
news, views and analysis on today’s railway.
- www.railnews.co.uk is a good source of news
about the rail industry and job opportunities.
- There are several specialist recruitment websites, here is a sample: www.railwaypeople.com; www.jobs-in-rail.co.uk; www.railrecruiter.co.uk/railjobs;
www.rtmjobs.com; www.railjobsearch.com
- Profiles about working in the rail industry can be found on a number of general
careers websites:
www.planitplus.net; www.allaboutcareers.com;
www.inputyouth.co.uk;
www.icould.com.
- General graduate websites usually list job and placement opportunities as well as
job profiles sometimes including video interviews with those working in the sector:
www.gradjobs.co.uk; www.targetjobs.co.uk; www.thebigchoice.com; www.prospects.ac.uk; www.grb.uk.com.