Signaller vacancy estimator tool gives green light for Network Rail recruitment plans

Network Rail is responsible for the UK’s railway infrastructure, including over 20,000 miles of track that stretches from Penzance in Cornwall to Thurso in the Scottish Highlands.

The non-departmental public body, which operates the third largest railway network in the world, employs 40,000 people in a variety of roles to keep Britain moving.

Operating at such scale, Network Rail enlisted the help of The Workforce Development Trust to establish a strategic workforce planning partnership at a time of growth and change for the organisation.

Working as an integral part of Network Rail’s National Workforce Planning Team, The Workforce Development Trust has co-designed a series of evidence-based interventions, which have led to tangible improvements in recruitment planning, reduced overtime costs and a lowered risk of unplanned staffing gaps.

In around 12 months, the charity developed a series of bespoke data-driven tools to enable more effective decision making, as well as providing strategic advice and guidance at the highest level within Network Rail and across industry partners.

So successful has their partnership been that one initiative – the Signaller vacancy estimator tool – has been nominated for an industry award.

Signallers control up to 30,000 train movements across the network each and every day, operating Network Rail’s sophisticated traffic light system at stations and depots across the country.

6,000 Signallers work around the clock to manage safe traffic flows across the railway network, controlling up to 30,000 train movements each and every day using Network Rail’s sophisticated traffic light system.

A highly skilled and safety critical role, signallers need to be able to react changing situations, make quick decisions and stay calm under pressure. Any shortfall in signalling staff can cause severe disruption on the network, which is why which it is vital to ensure a sustainable pipeline of talent is in place.

Against this background, The Workforce Development Trust created a robust model to accurately predict workforce shortfalls across the network, taking into staff movements, retirement and training pathways.

The project has given Network Rail greater confidence and evidence to make informed decisions about their recruitment strategy between now and 2030. This has already reduced their reliance on overtime and is expected to support efficiencies in occupational health and training.

Sarah Boland is the workforce lead at Network Rail and comments:

“Signalling is a highly skilled occupation that is crucial to the safety of our passengers, staff and network.

“Signallers work around the clock, including nights, evenings, weekends and bank holidays, and so workforce availability is vital.

“We recruit 500 or more signallers each and every year. Having the unrivalled intelligence and expertise of The Workforce Development Trust to support our long-term planning in this area has been nothing short of transformational.

“Experts in their field, with purpose at their core, their mission is to support better frontline public services through skills and workforce development, and they’ve certainly delivered on that promise through their partnership with us.”

Director of The Workforce Development Trust. Jon Freegard comments:

“With some railway infrastructure dating back to 1800s, operating at such scale presents an unprecedented operational and engineering challenge.

“Ensuring that the right people are in the right roles is therefore vital.

“Using five years of workforce supply data – including retirement trends, transfer patterns and role flows – we built a deterministic model that gives Network Rail the confidence to plan ahead.”

The Workforce Development Trust has a long history supporting and advising providers of frontline public services with workforce planning and development.