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Academy aims to tackle transport skills shortage

Caroline Gall
BBC News, West Midlands
NIS Group A man in an orange safety suit uses a large drill to work on train tracks. He has a blue hard hat on and wellington boots.NIS Group
Trainees will learn the skills needed to work in building and maintaining train lines, tram routes and stations, the college's deputy principal said

A new rail and transport academy which will start taking in trainees already has pledges of hundreds of new jobs for them, officials say.

Training provider NIS Group said it was working with the City of Wolverhampton College on the centre in Aston, Birmingham, and had the promises of employment from several companies.

The Transport, Rail and Infrastructure Academy is the third such academy in the West Midlands run by the group.

Jim Fleming, from Buildforce Solutions which pledged 100 jobs to the scheme, said it was important to tackle skills shortages in these industries.

The centre has been specially designed to teach the students about working on projects such as the region's trams and railways as it has a high-speed slab track, a conventional track, one high-speed set of points and a level crossing barrier.

Davie Carns, founder of the NIS Group, said he wanted to help people secure long-term jobs through the academy.

"The fact we have over 500 jobs pledged by employers before the centre officially opens shows the urgent need for workers in rail and construction," he said.

"We'll make sure that by the time they finish with us they will have the base skills, the qualifications and, in some cases, specialist knowledge of certain disciplines to be an immediate success."

NIS Group The building is of grey metal and glass with vehicles parked outside it. There is a wooden fence and shrubberies between the vehicles and the building. The word "TRIA" is written on a sign on the building.NIS Group
The centre has been specially designed with equipment such as a level crossing barrier to train students

People with mental health and learning disabilities or who were long-term unemployed or former Armed Forces personnel would also be supported and mentored if they became trainees, a spokesperson for the NIS Group said.

Other companies to offer trainees opportunities and jobs across the West Midlands include Linsco, Randstad and the Danny Sullivan Group.

NIS Group A man with dark hair, swept to his right side and with dark stubble, smiles at the camera. He wears a dark suit, white shirt and blue tie with white dots on it. Behind him is a grey wall.NIS Group
The college's deputy principal, Peter Merry, said he hoped they would train students who could help regenerate the West Midlands

Peter Merry, deputy principal and chief executive at the college, said the academy was aimed at helping regenerate the region.

They would do that by giving people in the area key skills to build and maintain "train lines, tram routes and stations across the West Midlands and beyond", he added.

"The opening of the third site in Aston is fantastic news as it will enable even more people to access high quality, specialist, industry-specific training to enable them to work in this priority sector," he said.

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