THE railways of Australia are facing a workforce crisis at a time when investment projects are being undertaken at an unprecedented scale, according to a report produced for the Australasian Railway Association (ARA).

ARA CEO, Ms Caroline Wilkie, says the report found that 35% of the Australian rail workforce would retire by 2035, with almost a third of drivers currently aged over 55.

“The industry is facing a retirement cliff, with more than a third of the entire rail workforce aged over 50 years, one in 10 aged over 60 and only 4% less than 25 years old,” she says.

“With an unprecedented $A 154bn ($US 103.9bn) investment over the next 15 years and the rollout of critical city-shaping projects across the country, we desperately need both skilled and unskilled workers to enter the rail industry now.”

The Rail Workforce - An Analytical Overview was prepared by Britain’s National Skills Academy for Rail (NSAR). It found that the 165,000-strong Australian rail workforce will have a 70,000 shortfall by 2024, mostly in operational and project roles, including engineers, drivers and IT specialists.

According to the report, 25% of Australian rail workers are female, compared with just 15% in Britain, with an average age of 42 compared with 46 for men.

Amongst the Australian states, Victoria has the highest proportion of female rail workers at 27%, followed by South Australia with 26%.

Rail offers more than 450 roles in six categories: operations, train movement, project management, engineering/infrastructure, corporate services, and trades/maintenance.

Driver was the second-most popular role for women, followed by customer service assistant. Driver was the top job for men after maintenance engineer.

As the industry works to decarbonise, the report notes that many more electrical skills, as well as new skills associated with battery technology, will be required as Australia aims to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.

The report was informed by new modelling, which will help industry better plan for future demand and respond to skills shortages in critical areas.

ARA says that it has several initiatives in progress to address the rail labour shortage. These include:

  • partnering with the National Rail Skills Hub (National Transport Commission) to improve the mobility of workers within the rail industry
  • partnerships with the education sector to build a range of training solutions that support careers in rail and the transition to new technologies
  • the Work in Rail campaign and website focusing on career opportunities in the rail industry
  • a partnership with Engineers Australia to deliver a rail-specific graduate education programme which ensures a national focus, and
  • creating non-accredited courses where there is an urgent industry need, including ARA’s Understanding Rail and Introduction to Rail Signalling courses.

“It is crucial that industry and governments work together to promote the very many rich and rewarding careers that rail has to offer and implement strategies that improve diversity, which is vital to a thriving, sustainable industry,” Wilkie says.