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Educational and Training needs in the Railway sector

Funding Scheme: Supporting Action

Thematic priority: Sustainable Surface Transport

Project Identification Number: 233649

D1.1

Due date of deliverable: 31/05/2010

Actual submission date: 20/09/2010

Start date of Project: 01/12/2009 Duration: 24 months

Organization name of lead contractor for this deliverable: IST

Document ID SKILLRAIL – D1.1

Document Type Deliverable

TRAINING AND EDUCATION FOR A MORE COMPETITIVE AND INNOVATIVE RAILWAY SECTOR

Document: SKILLRAIL-D1.1.pdf

Date: 20/09/2010

7th FRAMEWORK PROGRAMME, THEME [FP7-SST-2008-RTD-1], CSA. Grant agreement no.: 233649; Duration: 24 months (started 1st December 2009)

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Title Educational and Training needs in the Railway sector

Author(s) Ricardo Portal, Virgínia Infante, Manuel Pereira

Partner IST

Date 20th September 2010

Status final

Document history

Revision Date Description/reviewers

Dissemination Level

PU Public PP Restricted to other programme participants (including the Commission Services) RE Restricted to a group specified by the consortium (including the Commission Services) X CO Confidential, only for members of the consortium (including the Commission Services)



Date: 20/09/2010


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Table of Contents

Table of Contents ....................................................................................................................... 3

1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 4

2 Stakeholders Needs ............................................................................................................ 6

2.1 Questionnaire ............................................................................................................. 6

2.2 Results ........................................................................................................................ 9

2.2.1 Profile and representativeness of the responding stakeholders .............................. 9

2.2.2 Technical and management personnel .................................................................. 10

2.2.3 Current status of training and continuing education competences needs.............. 13

2.2.4 Competence needs................................................................................................ 15

2.2.5 Acquisition of competences and expected contribution from the Universities ...... 20

3 Conclusions ....................................................................................................................... 23

ANNEX 1. Questionnaire for Stakeholders ................................................................................ 24

ANNEX 2. Questionnaire for Stakeholders ................................................................................ 25



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1 Introduction

WP1 is organized to prepare the foundations for the establishment of the EURAIL

concept. This concept is structured around a mission, which involves the dissemination of the

social and industrial benefits of training education in the railway sector and the development of

new and innovative forms for further co-operation with industry.

Activities are envisaged in order to foster and disseminate the idea that the railway sector

needs advanced engineering education connected with research and technological

development and that therefore appropriate support has to be given to such education.

The establishment of the EURAIL will provide access to a range of professional and

academic groups in Europe active in railway related research and education activities. Many of

the participating institutions have unique expertise and sophisticated laboratory and testing

facilities which can be used to enhance the quality and effectiveness of training and education

in the railway sector. A networking process is crucial, and requires a detailed knowledge of the

industry needs to explore ways to satisfy these needs through the already identified

competences landscape across Europe.

Being a sectorial and problem oriented organization it is crucial to guarantee a sustained

close interaction with the relevant stakeholders at European level and worldwide.

Awareness of opportunities of qualifications in railway employment market requires the

characterization of competences for Education in the Railway sector and the Characterization

of currently available training and educational offers in Universities and research Institutes and

other training agencies.

Rail related training and education activities currently offered will be surveyed across

Europe. The analysis of training and educational programs and projects available inside EURNEX

Universities and other relevant higher Education Institutions in Europe and outside Europe will

be undertaken and disseminated within the sector.

This document provides the results of a survey on stakeholders (operators, infrastructure

managers, industry suppliers, etc.) needs in terms of competences, education and training. The

tasks developed to support the contents of this report involved the analysis of the several

competencies required for the business processes of the different profiles of stakeholders.

The knowledge provided by the surveys herewith presented enables an initial an initial

appraisal of major areas suitable for further developments in terms of training and education

needs.

Indeed, development of competencies is understood as a main input to ensure good

performance of business and industry processes. The work developed contributes to the



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integration of research activities as feeders of competencies and materials to support training

and education activities, enabling the development of complementary educational and training

programmes for railways practitioners and scientists.

The present report is organized in 3 chapters. After an introduction chapter, the analysis

of stakeholders needs is presented in chapter 2, including the presentation of the questionnaire

and a discussion of the different results obtained. An effort to harmonize codes and keywords

in view of the correlation of needs and availability of competencies is presented. The third

chapter contains the major conclusions.



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2 Stakeholders Needs

A detailed activity plan has been carried out for the identification of the stakeholders'

needs. This task comprised the following:

Design of a questionnaire to target railway stakeholders;

Collection of stakeholders’ contacts;

Analysis of stakeholders needs.

2.1 Questionnaire

The results discussed in this report are based on an initial questionnaire presented in

Annex 1 and completed using additional information obtained from a second questionnaire

presented in Annex 2. Instituto Superior Técnico (IST) in collaboration with UIC and REFER

prepared this second survey to gain information on the needs for education and training

emanating from the railway industry. It was sent out to a broad range of stakeholders of the

European railway community. Care was taken to personally address persons holding

responsible positions and to cover all the sectors:

Manufacturers and supply industry;

Infrastructure managers and manufacturers;

Railway operators and owners, including urban and regional guided transport networks;

Service providers;

Transportation authorities and public organizations.

The questionnaire has been distributed on March 15, 2010 and it was open until May 25.

Personal calls have been directly sent to approximately 250 contact persons. In addition,

information on the survey and calls for participation has been disseminated to their members

by UNIFE, UIC and EURNEX. A total of 15 survey responses were received.

As companies are overwhelmed with requests for information, the survey had to be kept

short and practical. The following rules guided its structure:

Keep the questionnaire as concise and simple as possible. Filling the survey should take

no longer than 20-30 minutes and must be feasible without having to consult detailed

information.

Gather information on the current respondent's situation with respect to training and

education, before asking for its needs and expectations. In doing so, the survey can be

dynamically personalized to the actual needs expressed by the respondents.



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For simplicity and efficient statistical analysis, avoid open questions and favour selections

from predefined answers.

Avoid asking for precise quantitative replies, as the data may be confidential and

respondents may not have them on hand.

The questionnaire is subdivided into six sections, each of which having to be filled before

processing to the subsequent page:

Section 1: General Information on the respondent

Personal data not stored in the final data base (except country);

Domain of activity;

Size and market addressed;

Section 2: Current employment status

Repartition in terms of qualification levels;

Repartition by specialization;

Section 3: Current status of training and continuing education

In-house and external training;

Continuing education;

Section 4: Needed competences

Since the detailed competence list used within EURNEX is too exhaustive to be used in a

questionnaire to the industry, an agreement has been found on a shorter competence list

covering all the railway topics in a more condensed structure. 35 competences are proposed,

regrouped into 8 main categories in accordance with the EURNEX structure. In addition, an

encoding is defined for use in this document:

TR – Rolling stock and traction:

TR1 – Car body design and construction TR2 – Bogies, running gear and braking TR3 – Interiors, auxiliaries, HVAC TR4 – Traction and power supply

SE – Systems engineering:

SE1 – Interoperability SE2 – System integration and engineering interfaces SE3 – Testing, verification and qualification

CE – Civil engineering and infrastructures:

CE1 – Tracks, switches and crossings CE2 – Bridges and structures



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CE3 – Tunnels CE4 – Stations CE5 – Geotechnics CE6 – Low voltage (IE/HVAC/Electromech Equipment) CE7 – Catenary

CS – Control systems:

CS1 – Signalling, control-command and interlocking CS2 – Train control, positioning and communication CS3 – Electromagnetic compatibility CS4 – Energy and Traction – PRT

OP – Operation:

OP1 –Passenger OP2 – Freight OP3 – Resources management OP4 – Technical and commercial exploitation OP5 – Intermodality OP6 – Inteligent Mobility Information systems

EN – Environment:

EN1 – Noise and vibrations EN2 – Air pollution and energy savings EN3 – Sustainable development, recycling and waste management

EC – Economics, business, regulations:

EC1 – Economics EC2 – Costs, asset management, life cycle costs EC3 – Market analysis EC4 – Business management EC5 – Regulations EC6 – Public service, social and political issues

GE – Multidisciplinary issues:

GE1 – Security and safety GE2 – Risk analysis and failure mode analysis GE3 – Human factors GE4 – Reliability, availability, maintenance and safety (RAMS) GE5 – Quality management GE6 – Light rail, tram and tram-train systems GE7 – Computer technology and networking

Section 5: Acquisition of competences:



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How the needed competences are currently acquired.

Section 6: New university curricula:

Contribution to education and training expected from the universities.

2.2 Results

2.2.1 Profile and representativeness of the responding stakeholders

What are the proportions of your personnel in terms of levels?

The data from Section 1 are summarized here. The geographical distribution of the

responding companies is as follows: five responses from UK, two from Portugal, two from Czech

Republic, one from Germany, one from France, one from Belgium, one from Hungary and one

from Austria.

The size of the participating companies and institutions is evaluated by their number of

employees as well as by their market. 75% of the companies have more than 1000 employees,

17% as less than 50 and 8% as between 251 and 1000 employees. In what concerns to market

69% of the companies act nationally, 15% in the European market and regional and worldwide

markets represent 8% each.

Figure 2.1. Domains of activity

Rolling Stock6%

Infractructure Contractors

15%

Signalling, control & info. technology

15%

Infractructure management

18%

Railways operators25%

Rail research9%

Transport authorities and other public

organizations6%

Other6%



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The domain of activity is an important issue for the representativeness of the data. As can

be seen in Figure 2.1, railway operators, infrastructure management, infrastructure contractors

and signalling represent the most significant contributions, with shares around 25%, 18%, 15%

and 15%, respectively.

2.2.2 Technical and management personnel

What are the specialties of your personnel?

Meeting the needs of the railway industry in educating and training skilled technical and

management personnel is twofold: the fields of specialization must be identified as well as the

qualification levels of the corresponding jobs.

A standard graduation into four generic levels has been utilized: Technicians,

Undergraduates, Postgraduates and PhD. It should be kept in mind that this definition provided

in the questionnaire is meant as a guideline.

The answers on the percentage of the technical and management employees for each

level are gathered in Figure 2.2. For example in the upper left plot concerning the technicians

36% of answers refer to companies that employ between 26-50% technicians.



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Figure 2.2. Personnel distribution by level

The conclusions to be drawn from this figure are:

Technicians make up less than 25% of the skilled personnel for 45% of the

respondents. Another 45% of the respondents state that technicians represent more

than 25% of the employees.

50% of the respondents declare that undergraduate represent less than 5% of their

employees. 90% state having less than 25% of undergraduate employees.

17% of the respondents state that postgraduate employees represent more than 50%

although 75% declares that this group represent less than 25%.

PhD holders or holders of multiple degrees are unsurprisingly under 10% for the

majority of the respondents (88%). 38% even respond that there are no PhD holders in

their company. This group is the less representative of all.

18%

9%

18%

36%

9% 9%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

In the technical and management personnel, how many have a level of:

Technician

50%

20% 20%

10%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%


Undergraduate

33%

25%

17% 17%

8%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%


Postgraduate

38%

25% 25%

13%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%


PhD



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The representation of the various engineering fields of specialization is showed in Figure

2.3. Other fields of specialization are depicted in Figure 2.4. These figures give a clear picture of

the specializations playing a significant role and those that are not common in the railway

industry. It is notorious that the fields of specialization more representative (more than 20%)

are economics and law, railways engineering, system engineering, communication engineering

and civil engineering.

Figure 2.3. Engineering fields of specialization

Figure 2.4. Other fields of specialization (detailed)

11%

13%

14%

30%

17%

22%

25%

14%

14%

29%

43%

20%

17%

33%

25%

50%

25%

43%

57%

40%

43%

30%

17%

75%

50%

33%

40%

50%

14%

43%

10%

17%

33%

25%

25%

17%

38%

29%

29%

20%

50%

14%

14%

10%

33%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Multidisciplinary

Aerospace

Automotive

Chemical

Civil

Communication

Computer/Software

Industrial

Materials

Mechanical

Power

Railway

System

Among the personnel with a University degree, how many are specialized in:

More than 20% 5-20% less than 5% None don't know

33%

14%

17%

33%

14%

17%

33%

50%

29%

75%

33%

33%

50%

25%

43%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Economics and Law

Social Sciences

Marketing and Inter. Relations

Political Sciences

Other


More than 20% 5-20% less than 5% None don't know



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Attending to the specializations with more than 5%, one can point again to economics

and law and railways engineering (both with 50%), power engineering (43%), civil engineering

(38%), system engineering (34%), social sciences and multidisciplinary engineering (both with

33%),followed by mechanical and communication engineering, (29% and 28%, respectively).

2.2.3 Current status of training and continuing education competences needs

It is beyond the scope of this survey to provide detailed quantitative information on the

training and continuing education policy of the respondents' companies.

On the other hand, it is important to assess the opinion of the actors of the railway

industry concerning their own training programmes, in order to identify the fields where the

universities might take over or implement curricula and training courses. In this sense, the

affirmative answers to the questions on training in Section 3 of the questionnaire are graduated

by a three point scale (Not enough, Sufficiently, Too many) yielding a qualitative evaluation of

the training efforts with respect to the level viewed by the respondents as satisfactory for their

company.

As far as training programmes are concerned, in-house and external training are

considered, where the first is normally dedicated to specialized and sometimes proprietary

matters while the second falls under more general considerations, which can be taught

externally.



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Figure 2.5. Current training programmes

The results summarized in Figure 2.5 are interpreted as follows:

79% of the respondents report existing in-house training programmes of any kind, and

74% organize or support external training. External training is concentrated on

specialized training (91%) and on short courses (82%), and much less on long duration

courses (64%). This indicates that the companies are concentrating their efforts on

matters ensuring direct return.

56% of the respondents consider that their in-house programmes are satisfactory on

the average. The satisfaction level for external training is 48% on the average, with

values ranging from 36% to 64%.

26% of the respondents judge the current in-house training effort insufficient, and 27%

share this opinion for external training (on the average).

9% of the responding companies have no in-house programmes and 21% favours

external training.

Very few respondents consider that there is too much training: 9% for short courses,

short training and summer schools (external training) and 8% for specialized internal

training.

18%

33%

27%

36%

18%

55%

58%

64%

36%

45%

8% 9%

18%

9%

18%

36%

9%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Company-specific, proprietary and/or strategic matters

Specialized techniques and procedures

Specifically taught by externals

Short courses, short training, summer schools

Long duration courses (master, PhD)

In-house training External Training

3 - Training and Continuing Education Competences Needs

Not enough

Sufficiently

Too many

No

Unknown



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Is continuing education part of your personnel training and promotion policy?

To the question on the importance of continuing education for the personnel's career,

two possibilities are envisaged:

Courses and degrees are subscribed at the personal initiative of the employees ("As

individual initiative of the employees");

Continuing education is supported in the frame of curricula and programmes proposed

by the employer ("In the frame of agreed programmes and courses providers").

In both cases, more than 80% of the companies are supporting both options.

To the question whether the companies had privileged relationships with universities or

research institutions for training and continuing education, 50% answered affirmatively, 33%

answered negatively.

2.2.4 Competence needs

What are the competences required for your activities applying to the railway sector?

In section 4 of the questionnaire, respondents were asked to check the competences

required for their railway activities according to the qualification level at which they are

exerted. Figure 2.6 shows an overview of the selections made in the eight main categories for

each degree.



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Figure 2.6. Competence needs by categories

This figure gives rise to the following comments:

The distribution between systems engineering, operation and environment categories

shows a balanced pattern, exhibiting a less than 30 of the responses.

Multidisciplinary issues and Civil engineering and infrastructures, exhibit a significantly

higher number of competence needs, more than 50 selections, followed by control

systems category.

The first position occupied by Multidisciplinary issues is explained by the fact that

these competences are needed by most stakeholders, whatever their domain of

activity. The same comment also applies to Economics, business and regulations.

Competences are mostly needed at the Graduate level and to a somewhat less extent

at the Postgraduate level. This relation is inverted in Economics.

In Rolling stock and traction category the competences needs are more indicated at

the Technician level.

The selections for the PhD level range between 0% and 7% of the total number of

selections for each category. This correlates with respect to the current proportion of

PhD employees, which is below 10%.

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Rolling stock and traction

Systems engineering

Civil engineering and

infrastrutures

Control systems Operation Enviroment Economics, business,

regulations

Multidisciplinary issues

What are the competences required for you activities applying to the railway sector?

Technician Graduate

Postgraduate PhD



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Figure 2.7 goes further into the details of the competence needs, showing the added

selections of all qualification levels for each competence.

Figure 2.7. Competence needs for all degree levels

The first five competences irrespective of the degree are:

GE5 – Quality management (14)

GE7 – Computer technology and networking (14)

CS1 – Signalling, control-command and interlocking (12)

GE1 – Security and safety (12)

GE4 – Reliability, availability, maintenance and safety (RAMS) (12)

The competence needs for each degree level are presented in Figures 2.9 to 2.13.

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

TR1

TR2

TR3

TR4

SE1

SE2

SE3

CE1

CE2

CE3

CE4

CE5

CE6

CE7

CS1

CS2

CS3

CS4

OP

1O

P2

OP

3O

P4

OP

5O

P6

EN1

EN2

EN3

EC1

EC2

EC3

EC4

EC5

EC6

GE1

GE2

GE3

GE4

GE5

GE6

GE7

TR SE CE CS OP EN EC GE

Technician Graduate Postgraduate Phd



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Figure 2.8. Competence needs for Technicians

Competences occupying the first two ranks for Technicians:

TR2 – Bogies, running gear and braking and GE7 – Computer technology and

networking (5)

TR3 – Interiors, auxiliaries, HVAC ; TR4 – Traction and power supply, Pantographs ;

CS1 – Signalling, control-command and interlocking ; OP1 – Passenger and GE1 –

Security and safety (4)

Figure 2.9. Competence needs for Graduates

Competences occupying the first two ranks for Graduates:

GE4 – Reliability, availability, maintenance and safety (RAMS) and GE5 – Quality

management (5)

SE2 – System integration and engineering interfaces ; CS3 – Electromagnetic

compatibility ; CS4 – Energy and Traction – PRT ; EN3 – Sustainable development,

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

TR1

TR2

TR3

TR4

SE1

SE2

SE3

CE1

CE2

CE3

CE4

CE5

CE6

CE7

CS1

CS2

CS3

CS4

OP

1O

P2

OP

3O

P4

OP

5O

P6

EN1

EN2

EN3

EC1

EC2

EC3

EC4

EC5

EC6

GE1

GE2

GE3

GE4

GE5

GE6

GE7


TechnicianTechnician

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

TR1

TR2

TR3

TR4

SE1

SE2

SE3

CE1

CE2

CE3

CE4

CE5

CE6

CE7

CS1

CS2

CS3

CS4

OP

1O

P2

OP

3O

P4

OP

5O

P6

EN1

EN2

EN3

EC1

EC2

EC3

EC4

EC5

EC6

GE1

GE2

GE3

GE4

GE5

GE6

GE7


GraduateGraduate



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recycling and waste management ; GE1 – Security and safety and GE7 – Computer

technology and networking (4)

Figure 2.10. Competence needs for Postgraduates

Competences occupying the first two ranks for Postgraduates:

EC5 – Regulations (5)

EC3 – Market analysis ; EC4 – Business management ; GE2 – Risk analysis and failure

mode analysis ; GE5 – Quality management and GE7 – Computer technology and

networking (4)

Figure 2.11. Competence needs for PhDs

Competences stated for PhDs are evident from Figure 2.11.

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

TR1

TR2

TR3

TR4

SE1

SE2

SE3

CE1

CE2

CE3

CE4

CE5

CE6

CE7

CS1

CS2

CS3

CS4

OP

1O

P2

OP

3O

P4

OP

5O

P6

EN1

EN2

EN3

EC1

EC2

EC3

EC4

EC5

EC6

GE1

GE2

GE3

GE4

GE5

GE6

GE7


PostgraduatePostgraduate

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

TR1

TR2

TR3

TR4

SE1

SE2

SE3

CE1

CE2

CE3

CE4

CE5

CE6

CE7

CS1

CS2

CS3

CS4

OP

1O

P2

OP

3O

P4

OP

5O

P6

EN1

EN2

EN3

EC1

EC2

EC3

EC4

EC5

EC6

GE1

GE2

GE3

GE4

GE5

GE6

GE7


PhdPhd



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2.2.5 Acquisition of competences and expected contribution from the Universities

Sections 5 and 6 of the survey are presented in parallel as they relate to the current

situation of competence acquisition and the expectations of the railway stakeholders from the

universities and the educational institutions, to be compared to each other.

In section 5 each respondent was asked to first estimate how the skilled personnel

acquire the competences identified as needed: as part of university curriculum, during training

and/or on the job, all these options being not exclusive.

How are the needed skills acquired by your technical and management personnel?

The results are shown in Figure 2.12, where the number of selections of each item is

referred to the total number of selections for every competence.

Figure 2.12. Current competence acquisition modes

This figure delivers an interesting picture of the current modes of skills acquisition in the

industry:

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

TR1 TR2 TR3 SE2 SE3 EN1 EN2 EN3 EC1 EC2 EC3 EC4 GE1 GE2 GE3 GE4 GE7

TR SE EN EC GE

University Specialization On job training Short term specialization On the job

Training



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The pattern of Figure 2.12 shows a high contribution of training (both modes together)

for all competences. Training accounts for 61% of the acquisition process on the

average, with a largest part for TR3 - Interiors, auxiliaries, HVAC (88%).

On-the-job specialization is less common, with values ranging from 10% to 22%,

accounting for 16% on the average.

University courses and curricula are unequally participating to specialization, with

values ranging from 0% to 57%. The contribution of universities is most significant for

competences in the category Economics, business, regulations (EC1 – Economics, EC2 –

Costs, asset management, life cycle costs, EC3 – Market analysis).

Section 6 of the survey deals with the respondents' expectations regarding the

involvement of universities for the acquisition of competences, by new curricula and by training

courses.

What further contributions are you expecting from the university?

The replies are shown in Figure 2.13, where the selections pertaining to every choice are

expressed with respect to the total number of records for each competence.



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Figure 2.13. Expected contribution from Universities

Most respondents are expecting at least 20% commitment from universities in

educational tasks dedicated to railway applications, but Sustainable development, recycling

and waste management (EN3) where contribution from Universities is not selected.

The percentage of "None" selections, which is largely above 20% for the majority of the

competences, excepting Risk analysis and failure mode analysis (GE2).

Highest "None" percentages are obtained for Sustainable development, recycling and

waste management (EN3) and Economics (EC1) with 50% each.

The share of training is the highest for the majority of the competences, on the average,

with peak values up to 70% for Risk analysis and failure mode analysis (GE2) and 60% for

Business management (EC4) and Security and safety (GE1).

The part of education increases in comparison with Figure 2.12.

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

TR1 TR2 TR3 SE2 SE3 EN1 EN2 EN3 EC1 EC2 EC3 EC4 GE1 GE2 GE3 GE4 GE7

TR SE EN EC GE

In degree curriculum As specialized training None



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3 Conclusions

European main line and local mass transit operators provide employment for over 1

million people in Europe. The European rail supply industry has 130 000 direct employees and

250 000 total.

A survey of railway stakeholders needs in terms of training and education has been

carried out within WP1 of the SKIILRAIL project. For this purpose two questionnaires have been

designed and a contact list including 250 persons was compiled. A total of 15 survey responses

have been received, which is quite small. This number is however within the return levels

expected for this type of exercises. Railway operators and infrastructure managers account for

43% of the responses whereas manufacturing (rolling stock, signalling and control and info

technology) totals 21% of the responses.

Meeting the needs of the railway industry in educating and training skilled technical and

management personnel is twofold: the fields of specialization must be identified as well as the

qualification levels of the corresponding jobs.

PhD holders or holders of multiple degrees are unsurprisingly under 10% for the majority

of the respondents (88%). 38% even respond that there are no PhD holders in their company.

This group is the less representative of all.

As far as training programmes are concerned, in-house and external training are

considered, where the first is normally dedicated to specialized and sometimes proprietary

matters while the second falls under more general considerations, which can be taught

externally. Courses and degrees are subscribed at the personal initiative of the employees ("As

individual initiative of the employees"); Continuing education is supported in the frame of

curricula and programmes proposed by the employer ("In the frame of agreed programmes and

courses providers").

University courses and curricula are unequally participating to specialization, with values

ranging from 0% to 57%. The contribution of universities is most significant for competences in

the category Economics, business, regulations (EC1 – Economics, EC2 – Costs, asset

management, life cycle costs, EC3 – Market analysis).

Most respondents are expecting at least 20% commitment from universities in

educational tasks dedicated to railway application.

Completer



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ANNEX 1. Questionnaire for Stakeholders

Informal Contribution

Name:

Company:

Department:

Position:

Email:

Phone:

Main activity of your company and department:

I – SKILLS REQUIRED

What are the technical competences required for your activities?

Fields of specialization: Rolling Stock, Infrastructures, Systems Engineering, Environment, Safety, Economics, Business, Regulation, others

What are the academic qualifications required for your activities?

II – CAREER DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES

In house training, cooperation with universities, international dimension

Employer branding, career opportunities

III – Cooperation with SKILLRAIL project

Do you wish to participate and follow SKILLRAIL activities? ____ yes ____ no

Please provide additional information if appropriate.



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ANNEX 2. Questionnaire for Stakeholders

The European Commission has awarded to a consortium of 5 partners a grant agreement for the project FUTURAIL submitted and positively evaluated in the first call of FP7 Transport Program.

FUTURAIL aims to contribute to European surface transport research program implementation and to the enhancement of the railway sector by fostering a better match between the human resources needs and the offer of skills to make railways a more competitive and innovative sector In this context FUTURAIL aims to deveaglop a matching function that is to bring the existing knowledge near the existing needs for a successful synergy.

It is crucial for the success of FUTURAIL to have a strong adhesion form the sector, which in turn stands to gain from this exercise; therefore we highly recommend to support the FUTURAIL activities, namely in providing the relevant information for the questtionnaire.

We thank you in advance in anticipation for supporting the FUTURAIL team for this important mission.

The following questionnaire is directed to the actors of the railway industry, from manufacturing to operation and including public organizations and transport authorities.

Its aim is to identify the competences required for qualified technical and staff personnel, and to assess the lacks of the current curricula proposed by educational institutions.

Your feedback is of primary importance for the achievement of this objective. Filling the next 6 sheets will take 20-30 minutes.

Information gathered is for internal use only, and will not be shared with any third parties. All your answers to this survey are private and confidential and will only be used within FUTURAIL. The information provided will be used for statistical purposes only and no nominal data will be kept in the database.



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1 - General Information

Company/Organization:

Name:

Divison/Department:

Adress:

Country:

Internet Homepage:

Tell us more about you Name:

Position:

E-mail: Phone:

What is the domain of activity of your company or organization in the railway sector?

Rolling stock (design, integration and supply industry)

Infractructure contractors (including fixed installations)

Signalling, control and information technology

Infractructure management

Railways operators

Rail research

Transport authorities and other public organizations

Other

Number of employees: 0-50 (SME)

51-250

251-1000

more than 1000

Market addressed or competence area: Regional

National

European

Worldwide



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2 - Current status of employment

What are the proportions of your personnel in terms of levels?


No

ne

less

th

an 5

%

5-10

%

11-2

5%

26-5

0%

mo

re t

han

50%

do

n't

kn

ow

Technican:

Undergraduate:

Postgraduate:

PhD:

Others



No

ne

less

th

an 5

%

5-2

0%

Mo

re t

han

20

%

do

n't

kn

ow

Engineering: Multidisciplinary ("generalist") Aerospace Automotive



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Chemical Civil Communication Computer/Software Industrial Materials Mechanical Power Railway System Economics and Law Social Sciences Marketing and International Relations Political Sciences Other

3 - Training and Continuing Education Competences Needs

Yes,

bu

t n

ot

eno

ugh

Yes,

su

ffic

ien

tly

Yes,

bu

t to

o m

any

No

do

n't

kn

ow

On company-specific, proprietary and/or strategic matters. These courses cannot be delegated nor shared:

On specialized techniques and procedures. These courses are taught by higly skilled professionnais and/or require special equipment: Others

Do you organize, sponsor or support external training? Specifically taught for your personnel by external lectures:

Short courses, short training, summer schools organized by universities and other educational institutions:

Long duration courses (master, PhD, …):

Others



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Is continuing education part of your personnel training and promotion policy?

Yes

No

do

n't

kn

ow

As individual initiative of the employees

In the frame of agreed programmes and courses providers

Do you have privileged relationships with universities and/or research institutions for training and continuing education?

Yes

No

do

n't

kn

ow

4 - Competences needs What are the competences required for you activities applying to the railway sector?

Tech

nci

an

Gra

dua

te

Po

stgr

adu

ate

Ph

d

Rolling stock and traction Car body design and constrution

Bogies, running gear and braking Interiors, auxiliaries, HVAC Traction and power supply, Pantographs Others

Systems engineering Interoperability

System integration and engineering interfaces Testing, verification and qualification Others

Civil enginneering and infrastrutures Tracks, switches and crossings

Bridges and structures Tunnels Stations

Geotechnics Low voltage (IE/HVAC/Electromech Equipment)



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Catenary Others

Control systems Signalling, control-command and interlocking

Train control, positioning and communication

Electromagnetic compatibility Energy and Traction – PRT Others

Operation Passenger

Freight Ressources management Technical and commercial exploration Intermodality Inteligent Mobility Information systems Others

Enviroment Noise and vibrations

Air pollution and energy savings Sustainable development, recycling and waste management Others

Economics, business, regulations Economics

Costs, assets management, life cycle costs Market analysis Business management Regulations Public service, social and political issues Others

Multidisciplinary issues Security and safety

Risk analysis and failure mode analysis Human factors Reliability, availability, maintenance anad safety (RAMS) Quality management Light rail, tram and tram-train systems Computer technology and networking Others



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5 - Acquisition of Competences

How are the needed skills acquired by your technical and management personnel?

Training

Un

iver

sity

Sp

ecia

lizat

ion

On

job

trai

nin

g

Sho

rt t

erm

sp

ecia

lizat

ion

On

the

job

Rolling stock and traction Car body design and constrution

Bogies, running gear and braking

Interiors, auxiliaries, HVAC

Systems engineering

System integration and engineering interfaces

Testing, verification and qualification

Environment

Noise and vibrations

Air pollution and energy savings

Sustainable development, recycling and waste management

Economics, business, regulations

Economics

Costs, assets management, life cycle costs

Business management

Regulations

Multidisciplinary issues

Security and safety

Risk analysis and failure mode analysis

Human factors

Reliability, availability, maintenance anad safety (RAMS)

Computer technology and networking



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6 - New University Curricula

What further contributions are you expecting from the university?

In d

egre

e cu

rric

ulu

m

As

spec

ializ

ed t

rain

ing

No

ne

Rolling stock and traction Car body design and construction

Bogies, running gear and braking

Interiors, auxiliaries, HVAC

Systems engineering System integration and engineering interfaces

Testing, verification and qualification

Environment Noise and vibrations

Air pollution and energy savings

Sustainable development, recycling and waste management

Economics, business, regulations Economics

Costs, assets management, life cycle costs

Business management

Regulations

Multidisciplinary issues Security and safety

Risk analysis and failure mode analysis

Human factors

Reliability, availability, maintenance anad safety (RAMS)

Computer technology and networking

educational and training needs in the railway sector...2013/07/03 · training and education for a...

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