The government is plotting a “recruitment campaign” to ramp up the number of British train drivers amid concerns over a shortage in the coming decade.
Aslef trade union general secretary Mick Whelan told the Financial Times a fifth of his union members are set to retire within the next five years, with not enough young operators joining the profession.
Labour has indicated its intention to kick-start a “massive recruitment campaign,” he said. “You need to recruit the number of people you need to run the service.”
The average age of a train driver in the UK is 48, according to the most recent government data.
In May, the former Conservative government launched a consultation into lowering the minimum age to become a train driver in Britain from 20 to 18.
It warned at the time the workforce was “projected to shrink” should more opportunities not be opened up for new recruits.
The proposals were backed by the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) and Rail Partners, two influential lobby groups representing the UK’s train companies.
A report released by the National Skills Academy for Rail (NSAR) in April raised concerns over a lack of diversity in the profession. Only one in ten drivers are non-white, accoring to the report, with even fewer being women.
Whelan’s Aslef on Wednesday accepted a pay deal from the RDG, bringing train drivers’ average salary in the UK to around £70,000 and ending a two-year dispute over pay and conditions.
The government has been approached for comment.