A CHARTER FOR STARTERS!

16 The young members advisory conference meeting Canterbury was proud to launch the RMT apprentice charter recently. The document comes at a critical time and outlines a comprehensive plan to address current challenges faced by apprentices, improve the quality of apprenticeships, and ensure the future sustainability of our transport sector. It calls on politicians and employers to take decisive action to support and invest in apprentices, particularly in rail which faces a looming retirement crisis. At present, the rail industry is at a crossroads. According to the National Skills Academy for Rail (NSAR), over 50,000 rail employees are set to retire in the next five years. This retirement wave, combined with a skills shortage, means the industry needs an additional 153,000 workers to bridge the gap and maintain resilience. As a result, incoming rail nationalisation presents an opportunity for us to shape what the rail industry will look like for generations to come. Apprenticeships should be a key solution to the crisis, but the current system is failing to deliver. The RMT’s Apprentice Charter is a direct response to this need and opportunity, calling for immediate action to address the systemic issues plaguing apprenticeships and secure the future of the rail industry. At the conference, we heard young members’ share their experiences of apprentices in the transport industry. Delegates shared harrowing stories of poor and outsourced training, bad planning, and a lack of progression opportunities. Many also highlighted how insecure fixed term contracts meant employers could intimidate them. Some members had been threatened with dismissal if they got involved in the union or raised concerns about unsafe conditions or inadequate training. Other delegates even raised illegal practices they encountered on private, third- party training programmes. These experiences highlight the disjointed and incoherent nature of apprentice training across the railway industry today—a stark contrast to some systems that existed under British Rail which were permanent jobs and provided in-house training at dedicated schools. This investment in training was seen as a key part of A CHARTER FOR STARTERS! RMT young members chair Sarah Cundy outlines the need to address the crisis in transport apprenticeships WHAT WE WANT FOR TRANSPORT APPRENTICES: • Better pay and terms and conditions in private sector apprenticeships • An end to fixed term contracts • Insourcing of apprentice training and education • More skilled apprenticeships in our industries (growth in railway) • A New Apprentice Training scheme under Great British Railways (GBR)