Next Generation Signalling Design Engineers & Industry Shortages 😮
As the UK rail industry evolves, driven by advancements in technology & increasing demand for efficient services, a significant challenge looms on the horizon – a shortage of Signalling Design Engineers and other specialist roles.

According to various industry reports and an excellent report done by NSAR “Rail Workforce Survey” 2023 a number of issues face the rail industry:

Aging Workforce: Many current signalling design engineers are approaching retirement age. This generational shift is leaving a significant gap that must be filled by younger, well-trained professionals. Indeed 43.6% of signallers are now over 50 years old. 😮

Additionally, the UK rail industry has a third of its workforce aged 50 years old or over, & the average median age has risen to 45 years.

We have fewer younger people the proportion of people under the age of 30 has decreased from 16% in 2018 to 10% in 2023. The average age of an apprentice is 27.7 years old. A survey done by RSSB found that most young people, even those with a STEM background, perceive a career working in rail to be boring, traditional, socially undesirable and lacking technological innovation. For women rail felt male-dominated & not a place where they would fit in.

We are facing critical losses of expertise, specialist skills & knowledge as it is estimated that the rail industry could lose up to 75,000 workers by 2030 due to natural forms of attrition and retirement.

The path to becoming a qualified Signalling Design Engineer is rigorous, requiring specialist education and training. Unfortunately, there has been a lag in producing enough graduates & apprentices to meet the industry’s needs. The technical nature of the role & the long lead time required for training further exacerbate this shortage.

Competition for Talent: With the global push towards modernising rail networks, the demand for signalling engineers is not limited to the UK. Therefore, international competition makes it even more challenging to retain top talent within the country. What’s more sectors such as Nuclear are also facing massive skills shortages and are also looking to entice STEM / rail engineers to make a career transition.

Apprenticeship take-ups, completions and levy underspend also suggest that the rail industry has yet to fully embrace apprenticeships as a method of workforce planning.

The most prominent skills deficits are in Signalling & Telecoms, System Engineering & Plant & Electrification.

40% of all active trainers will reach retirement age by 2030 😮

That’s why at DigiSig Rail Group Ltd we have grown our apprenticeship numbers, invested into their training, provided constant pier support so that they can become our next generation of Signal Design Engineers.  And we couldn’t be prouder of them!