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Wednesday, February 19, 2025

National rail academy opens

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The National Training Academy for Rail (NTAR) opened today in Northampton.

Transport minister Claire Perry MP performed ceremony, saying: “The opening of the National Training Academy for Rail is a major milestone towards delivering a network of transport infrastructure skills colleges and training academies, promised as part of our transport skills strategy.

“This new facility – and more like it – are just what the country needs to ensure we develop a workforce with the advanced skills required to build a transport network fit for the future.”

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Purpose-built adjacent to Siemens’ Kings Heath Traincare Facility, the new training academy is 50 per cent funded by Siemens and 50 per cent by the Government.

In return, Siemens will use half of the estimated 20,000 man-days of training per year, with the balance being available to the industry at large.

Facilities include a large workshop, in which students will be able to learn about equipment as varied as controlled emission toilets, carriage doors, bogies and driver simulators, and a variety of classrooms, some also equipped with specialist kit such as 3D viewers and signalling equipment.

The academy was established in response to a forecast skills shortage of around 8,000 people over the next 10 years, caused by factors such as the technological advancement of rolling stock, an ageing workforce and significant investment and growth in the industry.

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Equipment was supplied by a host of leading industry names, without whom the academy would never have been completed. As it stands, everything is ready for the first intake of students next Monday – none of whom is from Siemens.

Simon Rennie, general manager of NTAR, said: “Our ambition is to focus on transforming training in traction and rolling stock to genuinely contribute to tackling the skills gap in a way which both raises and creates standards, provides a fantastic learning environment, delivers innovation and, when put together, helps transform the perception of our industry to one where the breadth of technology and career opportunities are understood and developed.”

Developing a co-ordinated national network of transport infrastructure skills colleges and training academies is one of the key aims of the Government’s transport and infrastructure skills strategy.

Crossrail chairman Terry Morgan was appointed earlier this year to develop the strategy, which will also set out how the Government will deliver on its ambition to create 30,000 apprenticeships in roads and rail over the next five years.

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