Posted 2nd May 2012 | 4 Comments
Infrarail update: Waterman attacks training policies
PETE WATERMAN has launched a swingeing attack on the Government's approach to training and the effect of its policies on youth unemployment. He told the audience at a Railnews-sponsored presentation at Infrarail that Britain has fallen badly hehind foreign competitors because youth unemployment is rising here through official timidity.
He said: "What we mean by an apprenticeship is someone who learns a skill. We have a particular problem right now with 18 to 26-year olds. We are surrounded by a tick-box mentality. But it's not tick-boxes we need -- it's hands on rails and spanners. Getting the Government to understand that is very, very difficult."
Mr Waterman rose to fame as a pop music impresario, but in recent times has taken a deep interest in the railway industry, and in particular its training needs. As such, he is patron of the National Skills Academy for Railway Engineering, which was formed in late 2010.
He warned his Infrarail audience in Birmingham that the situation has become critical, with skills shortages now increasingly apparent across a wide range of disciplines.
He added: "You may have seen some of the government announcements over the past three months. But six weeks' training on how to wash your hands and how to catch a bus to work at 7.30 in the morning does not make a certificate for me. What we do need are training schemes and apprenticeships that actually match what employers want."
Reader Comments:
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will, cardiff
just like network rail can run a railway from an office while laying off all ground workers .all about the profit.emails flying around the office profit profit profit all we need is a train crash and some poor contractor will get blamed again .
lorentz, London
This from a guy that is stillplaying with his train set, but then again that's not much different from the old-school rail managers out there.
phil gaskell, manchester
well put pete i served a maintenance electrical apprentaship in the 70s for daniel adamson (acrow) when dans shut in 1983 everything engineering went abroad. my daughter is a tipical example she is 21 she has been to college has done several n.v.qs for youthwork and has got nowhere. our local council has chosen to shut down most of our youth centres so leaving her with nothing. i now work for a railway company and have so from 1993 my daughter loves the railways but god forbid she gets involved with any of the modern day cowboys
Lee, Manchester
Well done Pete!
its about time somebody (other than possibly Lord Sugar) stood up for aprentiships. its also about time someone promoted jobs through manufacturing industry rather than house building, shops and middle management. In the last 30 years it has been possible to watch successive governments talk about promoting British industry while buisly exporting it to India and China. The industrial revolution began here but instead of us exporting goods to the worl, we seem to be importing everything instead. I hope Pete gets more support at government level and other industry leaders take on board what he is saying.