THOUSANDS of new jobs will become available in the region’s transport industry for young people and others looking for a change of career.
Research commissioned by Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) shows how an estimated 60,000 new workers will be needed to help design, build and operate the region’s rail, road, bus and tram networks over the next 15 years.
Key projects such as HS2 and TfWM’s own £1.3billion, five-year infrastructure investment programme mean there will be an unprecedented demand for skilled workers. This growing workforce will be required across a range of careers including software designers and engineers, digital specialists, transport planning and design, construction and maintenance and day-to-day operations.
If retained in the West Midlands, the estimated 60,000 jobs by 2035 would be worth more than £1.7billion in social value.
But while the report by the National Skills Academy for Rail highlights the huge job opportunities for those with the right training, it also sets out the scale of the challenge in closing the gap in the region’s existing transport skills.
