QR National’s major skills campaign a welcome move for industry

By Jennifer Perry

QR National chief executive Lance Hockridge said the company would boost its current apprentice, trainee and graduate numbers from approximately 75 to 300 per year within the next three years.

“The rail freight transport sector is experiencing strong growth especially on the back of continued development and diversification in the resources sector,” Hockridge said.

“There are many highly skilled young people, particularly in regional Australia, who will be crucial to our start as a private sector company and meeting the demands of growth.”

A spokesperson for QR National told Rail Express that the move is part of a plan to “build and diversify the company’s workforce” across a range occupations for apprentices including electro technology (electricians, electronics, traction linesperson), mechanical fitters, turners and diesel fitters, and fabrication heavy/light.

Traineeships will be offered for Certificate I in construction industry, Certificate II and III in rail infrastructure, warehousing (particularly in the company’s freight distribution centres) and business.

Occupations for graduates include accounting, business and finance, information technology, human resources, transport and logistics and marketing and communications.

Strategic alliances
Hockridge said QR National would also establish “strategic alliances” with universities, TAFEs and other educational providers which can support the development of recruits in key regional centres where they are based.

“QR National ... will forge new arrangements to provide employees across Australia with the right level of development ... and will also introduce greater recognition of skills and award appropriate nationally accredited qualifications. New capabilities will also be introduced to produce and ever safer workplace and a sustainable performance-based culture that delivers strong commercial results,” the spokesperson said.

“These alliances will offer us more capacity and flexibility to improve the skills of employers and will provide us with the potential to recruit people with recently acquired qualifications and skills.”

Mentoring
QR National’s new mentoring program will pair new recruits with existing skilled employees to “fast track” their development.

“Mentoring provides ‘experiential learning’ in the workplace and taps the knowledge and experience of senior employees. We see value in leveraging off our successful programs with a whole-of-company approach and broadening the focus of mentoring beyond apprentices, trainees and graduates,” the spokesperson said.

The Transport and Logistics Industry Skills Council (TLISC) welcomed QR National’s announcement and told Rail Express that it is “encouraged” by the employer initiated program.

“Initiatives like this are an important step in increasing the flow of young people into rail careers which will help address the challenges associated with the rail sector’s increasing ageing workforce profile,” a TLISC spokesperson said.

According to the Australasian Railway Association’s The Changing Face of Rail report, with the bulk of employees in the Australian rail industry falling in the over 40 years of age, the industry is set to face a major loss of corporate knowledge and industry experience as large groups of long term employees reach retirement, with no available pool of skilled and experienced employees to replace them.

The effects of this will be felt most keenly in some of the core rail occupations.