Specialist Recruiter Calls for Greater understanding of Rail Workforce Skillbase

The UK rail industryís ability to precisely understand and accurately plan its workforce requirements is being severely hampered due to a lack of understanding about the skills which comprise the sectorís labour force, claims Richard Lawrance, Managing Director of Resourcing Solutions Ltd.

A study scrutinising the status of the sectorís workforce was commissioned by Resourcing Solutions Ltd, the recruiting expert for the infrastructure, engineering and construction sectors, during November 2005. A comprehensive analysis of Government and industry sources to quantify trends in labour behaviour, supply and demand disappointingly highlighted vast holes in the information available to those with the responsibility for building, managing and maintaining the workforce to ensure continuity and excellence of service on the UKís railways.

Richard Lawrance explained that his company undertook the research in support of their work with national rail organisations, which as clients of the specialist recruiter, turn to it for its ability to define an accurate picture of the UKís rail workforce pattern when attempting to plan their labour requirements. Lawrance said: ìOur incisive understanding of the rail labour force is captured from our daily business dealings across the sector. It is always useful to qualify our knowledge with independently accredited data obtained from public studies.î However Resourcing Solutions Ltd found that institutions you would expect to own such information, and notably the Sector Skills Council, GoSkills, were unable to provide any substantive insight into the current workforce picture.

According to the company, the last time a comprehensive review of the rail labour market was undertaken and its findings made public was in 2002. The only public information presently available analysing skills in the sector was found in the Labour Force Surveys of 2004 and 2005. However data for the sector is amalgamated with wider industry referencing including logistics, construction and engineering, making it very difficult if not impossible to provide any useful conclusion about the unique skills base found in the rail industry.

ìFor an industry to be basing its people projections on data that is now almost 4 years out of date is a travesty,î said Richard Lawrance. ìOne of GoSkillsí 4 official objectives is to help reduce skills gaps and shortages, but how can GoSkills truly perform this role if it does not have an accurate and current understanding of how and where skills and any issues lie in the sector? It has been almost one year since they merged with the Centre for Rail Skills who were previously responsible for this task. This is more than enough time to have undertaken such a study.î

Richard Lawrance continued: ìIt may well be that GoSkills has undertaken market analysis since its inception but not made this information public. If this is so, then not sharing its knowledge surely defeats the purpose of its role as well as defeats a second of its stated objectives, to help improve productivity, business and public service performance. The rail industry has a huge task ahead of it if it is to meet its performance targets and ensure our rail infrastructure is able to cope with current demands as well as forthcoming events such as the Olympics. Now is the time for GoSkills to be doing all it can to assist the industry and performing its role as the industryís skills champion.î