UK: A Rail Skills Academy programme is being launched to help to combat the skills shortage and lack of diversity in the rail industry as part of the legacy programme for the East Kilbride Enhancement Project.
The academy will be delivered by QTS Training on behalf on Network Rail and funded through South Lanarkshire Council.
People aged 18 to 24 years living in South Lanarkshire and currently out of employment can attend a skills assessment day at the Routes to Work South office in East Kilbride on August 9.
The course will be based at the East Kilbride Enhancement project site, and is designed to equip participants with the competencies, skills and experience required to thrive in the railway maintenance sector. It will include employability and core skills, health and safety, track safety and track induction, as well as the SQA Level 4 Practical Skills for Employment qualification.
Each academy session will run for 10 weeks, with transport provided to and from the site.
‘As a lead contractor working in this sector, QTS has been developing a range of programmes, including apprenticeships, traineeships and graduate development to encourage young people to join the industry’, said QTS Training director Lorna Gibson on July 30.
‘This will be the eighth cohort of QTS Rail Skills Academy trainees and we are delighted to bring the opportunity for the first time to South Lanarkshire. The programme has a current success rate of 97% of employment following graduation, which shows there is a demand for these young people within the industry.’
