ARA demands action to avert skills crisis

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A new report says the rail industry needs to address its fast-developing labour crisis to avoid a substantial blowout in project costs and delivery delays across Australia and New Zealand over the next 10 years.

A BIS Oxford Economics paper commissioned by the Australasian Railway Association (ARA) outlines that investment of over $100 billion in rail spending by the Australian over the next ten years will fall flat without substantial growth in fit-for-purpose training for the sector.

The report recommends the establishment of a high level taskforce of government, industry and education providers, with a three-pronged focus:

To facilitate the development and maintenance of an Australian Rail Industry Pipeline of rail project to map what skilled labour will be required – suggesting the ANZIP pipeline, established by Infrastructure Partnerships Australia, be adapted and refined for this purpose.
To develop a National Rail Industry Skills Development Strategy to drive reform in education and training systems and practices.
To boost awareness and attraction to rail careers.

“The next ten years will herald a renaissance of rail in Australia,” ARA CEO Danny Broad said in a statement.

“Important urban passenger projects such as the Melbourne and Sydney Metros, Brisbane’s Cross River Rail, Perth’s Metronet and multiple light rail infrastructure and rolling stock investments, as well as crucial freight projects such as Inland Rail.

“Unless we address shortages due to market failure, attrition, and unsuitable training arrangements, projects will blow out in terms of delivery and cost.”

According to the ARA, BIS modelling shows that at the peak of Australian rail’s construction phase, in 2023, the workforce gap may grow to as many as 70,000 people.