What about Rail & Maritime?

Ships carried the first goods for international trade and remain a major means of transport worldwide. In 2004, 26.6 million passengers, almost seven million cars and just over 555 million tonnes of freight moved through UK ports. Supporting transportation, the marine manufacturing sector in the UK deals with marine equipment, boat building, shipbuilding and ship repair.

Rail transport is closely linked to the maritime industry,  as goods containers arriving in ports often continue their journey by train. In 2003, trains moved around 43.5 million tonnes of goods to and from our ports. Around one third of metal products in Britain and 80% of the stone used for construction in London are also transported by train. By minimising the use of lorries, rail freight also reduces greenhouse gas emissions and motorway congestion.

Railways also carry passengers. In 2006/07, over a billion passengers used the London Underground.
Businesses and commuters rely heavily on rail transport, maintaining and developing the rail network is therefore indispensable to keeping the country going.

Typical Activities

Working for the rail and maritime industries, you could be adopting new technologies to manage vast traffic movements, dealing with the massive pressures that urbanisation has put on our infrastructure, or managing the increased demand for global travel that our economic prosperity has brought. Typical tasks include:

• Maintaining ships and submarines
• Maintaining and building railway tracks, tunnels and bridges
• Designing and implementing signalling and telecommunications systems
• Adapting services and functions according to changing commercial requirements

Getting in

Together, the rail and maritime industries employ almost 400,000 people in the UK. There are many levels of entry into transport, and few age or educational restrictions apply.

Apprenticeships are available for technical roles across the rail and maritime industry, many in electrical and mechanical engineering. NVQs and SVQs in subject such as marine engineering, marine vessel support, rail maintenance and rail transport operations can also provide a route into this sector.

Graduates who work in transport come from a wide range of disciplines, including mechanical, electrical and civil engineering.

Typical Employers

Employers range from small companies to nationwide organisations.

• Network Rail
• Royal Navy
• Department for Transport
• Transport for London

More reading

The Institution of Highways & Transportation

Skills for Logistics

GoSkills - the sector skills council for passenger transport