Better People. Better Railway

As the rail industry increases in both size and complexity, there’s a growing need to develop the field and ensure the sector continues to thrive.

Like any industry, the rate of technological improvements provides significant opportunity to continue improving what resources are used, and how. However this can cause a strain on human resources. As technology improves the focus of growth for an industry should not always be fixated on the industry’s purpose (moving people & products), but on how to increase sustainability and execute key tasks (such as making trains more environmentally considerate or ensuring the focus remains on safety).

From his keynote speech to the Railway Industry Association conference in 2017, UK Rail Minister Paul Maynard identified a variety of strategy goals. An important goal he identified was to develop new technology for the industry. New technology in a specialised industry can be difficult however, without proper creativity and guidance. The need for a technically educated workforce in rail remains constant, but now there is an additional requirement for a creative approach in order to cultivate new ideas that add value to the industry.

The second important goal was to ’attract new talent’. Skilled managers from other industries are highly valuable but often difficult to attract due to the complex barriers to entry in the railway sector. This suggests that railway engineers need to have a better understanding about how to communicate with these managers in order to share information on a level that is logical for someone without technical knowledge. It may be equally valid to attract new talent in the sense that railway specialists may benefit meaningfully from higher level training such as management and other soft-skills that can help them to be more effective and influential in the field, rather than relying on external managerial influence.

With these ideas in mind, we are encouraging both the adoption of additional skills by our trusted railway personnel to help them communicate better with management and to provide them the skills to enter management roles themselves. This comes in many forms; whether it be additional skills for personal development, or skills to create more favourable outputs for an organisation as a whole. We spoke to members of the railway field (and some of the trainers we use at the Institution) to pinpoint what areas are recommended for development. With this guidance, we’ve developed a list of skills that we believe aim to increase your personal development and to give you a holistic approach of how soft and technical skills can benefit your career in the rail industry. 

• Your can access the list of skills using our online resource to determine what skills are the best fit for you, or your team.