Monday 9 Mar 2009
NETWORK RAIL CALLS FOR APPRENTICESHIP EQUALITY AND REDUCED BUREAUCRACY TO HELP STIMULATE UK ECONOMIC GROWTH
- Region & Route:
- National
Network Rail, one of the UK’s largest investors in vocational training, has called on the Government to support equality for apprenticeship schemes and reduce their bureaucracy to stimulate the country’s economy and get people into work.
Responding to the Government’s ‘Apprenticeship, Skills, Children and Learning Bill’, the rail company wants apprenticeships for people over 19 years of age fully funded and a significant reduction in the onerous external inspection, assessment and assurance audits that are plaguing successful employer provided schemes.
Currently, the Network Rail apprenticeship scheme is over inspected, which significantly increases the administrative burden on the company and diverts valuable resources away from the frontline training of apprentices.
Simon Kirby, Network Rail director of infrastructure investment, comments: “It is widely accepted that this country suffers from a skills shortage in key industries. Whilst we support many of the proposals in this Bill we are highly concerned that in its present form it financially penalises companies from investing in the mature age apprenticeships that are absolutely crucial to this country’s future and to its economic recovery.
“All apprenticeships should be treated equally and receive the same level of funding and support afforded by the Government to build a sound skills base. Not having funding parity in place makes it very difficult for us to budget effectively.”
The CBI’s Head of Education and Skills policy, Richard Wainer, said: “The CBI has also called on the Government to abandon plans to introduce prescriptive rules for apprenticeships over and above existing regulation, such as stipulating minimum time for off-the-job training. These would simply discourage more employers to get involved with apprenticeships.
“It’s now more important than ever that the Government does all it can to support firms, ensure apprenticeship programmes better meet their needs and champion the sort of training that companies such as Network Rail are so good at.
“We all want to see greater employer involvement in apprenticeships, so more must be done to tackle the mountains of paperwork and reduce the numbers of inspections. Strong business buy-in is a pre-requisite for high quality schemes.”
Over the next five years Network Rail will be investing £28.5bn in building a bigger, better railway. This investment will see a range of major projects undertaken around the country to deliver ongoing improvements in service capacity, reliability and performance for the direct benefit of passengers. This programme of works, which includes key projects the likes of Thameslink, Crossrail, Airdrie to Bathgate (Scotland) line and Birmingham New Street, will create hundreds of new apprenticeships and other project related jobs nationally.
Notes to editors
Notes to editors About Network Rail’s Advanced Apprenticeship Scheme • Is one of the largest advanced apprenticeship schemes in the country, run at HMS Sultan in Gosport • Includes 23 maintenance and safety training centres and two signalling training centres • No less than 220 apprenticeships with the company are offered each year • Since 2005, 72 apprentices have graduated from the three-year advanced apprenticeship scheme and of this number only one person has not decided to take up employment within the business • Over the next five years, Network rail will train an additional 1200 apprentices • In addition to LSC funding Network Rail receives, a further £56,000 is invested in training each apprentice over the three year period - this covers salary, training costs and accommodation • The retention/completion rate for participants in the Network Rail apprenticeship scheme is above the national average for apprenticeships and stands at, as a whole (around 60%) • The retention rate for apprentices graduating in 2008 was 99.5% and for 2007 it was 98.5% • Network Rail works closely with VT Group and the Royal Navy on the delivery of the advanced apprenticeship scheme To find out more about careers at Network Rail visit: www.everydaybrilliance.co.uk Major Projects Thameslink Programme: one of the biggest rail projects ever in the UK At £5.55bn of investment, this project is crucial to our growth plans. Due to take an estimated 40 million hours, and to completed by the end of 2015, it will support economic growth in the South East region, increase train capacity to and through London and reduce overcrowding on the Underground – all before London 2012. Passengers on the Thameslink route will benefit from 50% longer trains and new direct services (e.g. Cambridge to Gatwick). New stations will be built and bottlenecks removed at Blackfriars and London Bridge. Transforming Birmingham New Street: the £550 million Gateway Project This is the first phase of funding to redevelop one of the UK’s busiest stations – tackling overcrowding and greatly enhancing passenger experience. Originally designed to handle 650 trains a day, the station now takes over 1,250 every day. The new concourse will be over three times its current size and passengers will have better, modern facilities in a light and spacious station. Links to the city will be improved and the New Street Gateway will create 3,000 new jobs and deliver economic benefits of more than £1.7bn. MORE PROJECTS • Crossrail – the largest civil engineering project in Europe • £5.55bn overhaul of the Thameslink route • £425m at Reading station to increase reliability and performance • £400m plus redevelopment of King’s Cross station • £400m on delivery of essential infrastructure for London 2012 • £300m on a new line from Airdrie to Bathgate (Scotland) • £350m Trent Valley scheme to continue upgrading the railway on the West Coast • £150m Edinburgh Waverley capacity enhancement • £9m on improvements at Euston station
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We own, operate and develop Britain's railway infrastructure; that's 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK's largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country's train operating companies.
Usually, there are almost five million journeys made in the UK and over 600 freight trains run on the network. People depend on Britain's railway for their daily commute, to visit friends and loved ones and to get them home safe every day. Our role is to deliver a safe and reliable railway, so we carefully manage and deliver thousands of projects every year that form part of the multi-billion pound Railway Upgrade Plan, to grow and expand the nation's railway network to respond to the tremendous growth and demand the railway has experienced - a doubling of passenger journeys over the past 20 years.
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