Written question asked by Viscount Thurso (Liberal Democrat) on Friday, 14 November 2003, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 20 November 2003. It was answered by Tony McNulty (Labour) on Thursday, 20 November 2003 on behalf of the Department for Transport.

Dept for Transport

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many staff (a) were employed in 2002 and (b) are employed in each key area of the railway industry; what the total requirement for staff in each key area is; what assessment he has made of staff shortage numbers in each key area; and how many individuals are (i) in training and (ii) trained for each key area. - Inc figures.

Answer: John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many staff (a) were employed in 2002 and (b) are employed in each key area of the railway industry; what the total requirement for staff in each key area is; what assessment he has made of staff shortage numbers in each key area; and how many individuals are (i) in training and (ii) trained for each key area. [139724] Mr. McNulty: Figures are not kept in the form requested. The latest information on rail industry staff numbers comes from a survey carried out by the Rail Industry Training Council between November 2002 and April 2003. It showed that, in 2002, approximately 177,000 people were employed in rail related work covering 110 different occupations. There were also 702 vacancies classified as "hard to fill". The number of trainees working toward a national qualification was estimated at 11,685. The Centre for Rail Skills was launched on 27 October 2003 to help the rail industry equip itself, in a cost effective way, with the right number of people with the right skills in place at the right time.

Secondary information