Carl Williams, the Chief Executive at the Light Rail Safety and Standards Board, has joined the organisation’s Let’s Talk Light Rail podcast to outline how they are revolutionising light rail skills training and development with the launch of a new “Skills Hub”.
The new “Skills Hub” aims to standardise competencies across the sector, while also enabling operators to keep track of required certifications and help them identify the most appropriate training courses. The online platform has already been adopted by Edinburgh Trams, South Yorkshire Supertram and West Midlands Metro, with other operators expected to get on-board later this year.
Carl Williams said: “A lot of fantastic work is already being done within various organisations, but they may not know that what they are doing could be considered ‘best in class’, and previously there has been no platform where others can learn from what they are doing,” he explained.
“Beyond providing dashboards where managers can have instant access to information on their own training and development programmes, the Skills Hub is also creating a community that taps into the enthusiasm within the sector to share best practice.”
Presented by Carly Swift, LRSSB Marketing and Communications Manager, the latest edition of the podcast also saw Marlene Pearson-McGrath contribute. She has worked on the Skills Hub project while on secondment from Edinburgh Trams, where, as Training Manager, she developed a similar platform. During the podcast she explains the challenges of scaling up the system and ambitions for the future.
Carl concluded: “The next phase of the Skills Hub project will see it evolve in line with the requirements of operators and, at the same time, help to drive the development of young people who are vital to the future of light rail.”
- The latest edition of the podcast can be viewed at https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/lrssb/