Welcome
Welcome to the Seamless Future Rail Skills Project, which will help improve access to the current and future skills needed to build and operate the national rail network.
Welcome to the Seamless Future Rail Skills Project, which will help improve access to the current and future skills needed to build and operate the national rail network.
Living in such a large country, the rail industry plays a vital role in supporting other industries, the economy and communities through the movement of goods and people.
In 2020 state and federal transport Ministers agreed to implement the National Rail Action Plan, The Plan highlighted workforce challenges including a shortage of critical skills in construction, operations and manufacturing.
Data from the recently released 2021 Infrastructure Market Capacity report confirms there is a skills shortage. The report forecasts that over the next three years labour shortages are anticipated to peak at a likely shortfall of 93,000 workers in early-2023. At this peak, demand for skilled workers will be 48% higher than supply.
The Seamless Future Rail Skills project has been initiated to improve access and pathways to current and future rail skills needed to build and operate the national rail network. This will help increase workforce supply.
Developing training pathways underpinned by a strategic skills audit will support new and existing workers shifting into new roles. It will also increase the consistency of resources and promote harmonisation of training. This will help ensure the rail workforce has the skills to keep up with the growing investment in Australia’s rail infrastructure.
The project is in response to the Infrastructure and Transport Ministers committing to creating the National Rail Skills Hub (NRSH) to co-ordinate between state academies and industry initiatives to improve access and pathways to current and future rail skills needed to build and operate the national rail network.
The National Transport Commission is working with the Department of Education, Skills and Employment to ensure the outcomes of this project feed into the overarching work of the NRSH.
August 2022
We are proud to open up the training pathways for tranche four for public stakeholder consultation. The consultation period has closed.
May 2022
We were proud to open up the training pathways for tranche three for public stakeholder consultation. The consultation period has closed.
March 2022
We were proud to open up the training pathways for tranches one and two for public stakeholder consultation. The consultation period has closed.
February 2022
The Seamless Future Rail Skills project has started, and we will soon be seeking input from operators and other stakeholders across the rail industry to inform its progress.
The outcomes of the project include:
The project team will examine training pathways and digitalise training materials in parallel to ensure this work can be completed promptly. Work is due to be completed by October 2022.
We want to ensure the products we develop will meet the needs of the rail industry. We need to hear from you to help guide our work.
Click here for options on how to be involved.