5th to 11th February 2024 marks the annual National Apprenticeship Week and as part of the events connected with this the Transport Skills Academy (TSA) is encouraging people in the West Midlands to consider a career in transport. To do this they have fostered working relationships with organisations across the region, which includes the Midland Metro Alliance.
Its estimated that by 2035, the West Midlands will need to fill almost 60,000 new jobs in the transport sector to help operate its growing rail, road, bus and tram networks. The TSA, who were founded by Transport for West Midlands in 2022, was set-up to provide a one-stop destination to inspire the future workforce to choose a career in transport whilst also enabling the current workforce to be upskilled.
Apprenticeships play a vital role to address the skills gap as they allow people to earn whilst learning as they look for options to develop their careers. And the TSA have forged relationships with not only the Midland Metro Alliance but also Birmingham City Council, Wolverhampton City Council, Black Country Transport and the West Midlands Combined Authority in order to develop transport related apprenticeships.
Speaking about why they embraced apprenticeships, Rose Rees, Head of Engagement & Skills at the Midland Metro Alliance, said: “We’ve got some fantastic people retiring but they’re taking with them their skills, knowledge and experience, so we need to encourage new people to come into our sector, young people as well, particularly, to bring their innovation, their fresh ideas, and learn from the people that are currently in the sector. In addition to a variety of interesting roles at site, at Midland Metro Alliance, we have welcomed numerous apprentices in our offices ranging from Level Two customer service technicians, through to Level Two and Three business admin, marketing, to Level Six-degree apprentices who are working as quantity surveyors out of our site in Dudley.”