Opening up railway careers
Rail travel can be economical, eco-friendly and an efficient way to travel across Europe, provided it features modern infrastructure and cutting-edge, high-tech systems. The European railway sector must invest in research, development and innovation in order to become more competitive and efficient. This requires staff that is better skilled and full of ambition to overcome the challenges in the industry. The EU-funded project 'Job opportunities for the railway community of tomorrow' (Futurail) supported the implementation of the EU's transport research programme by matching human resources with skilled labour from training institutions and relevant academic fields. The project considered the social, economic and industrial benefits of education and research in the railway sector. It promoted the attractiveness of working in this field, particularly with respect to research and innovation. Another important aspect was to ensure gender balance in railway transport research. Futurail raised awareness concerning high-skilled job opportunities for women in railway science, research and innovation through workshops, outlining best practices in this direction and establishing a gender helpdesk online. The project identified the required skills and expertise to strengthen jobs in the sector. It organised a workshop to foster closer ties between industry and academia, i.e. human resource demand and supply. Futurail contributed to upgrading the image of the rail industry in Europe, disseminating good practices and motivating staff. It outlined future needs in knowledge such as engineering, economics, management and sociology, helping to modernise the sector and introduce new processes. Bringing skilled staff closer to industry in order to bridge past expertise with future innovation and research was key to this mission.
