In March 2024, NSAR and Network Rail welcomed RTAS Training Providers to NSAR’s Central London office to discuss improvements and enhancements to the current process of onboarding new Trainers and Assessors, as well as the process for upskilling established Trainers and Assessors. Training Providers discussed their current experience of upskilling and onboarding and shared their ideas as to how we can improve the process.
NSAR would like to extend thanks to the following providers:
- AP Webb
- TES2000
- Intertrain
- Pendersons
- Bridgeway Consulting
- UK Power Network Services
- Maya Rail
- L&W Contractors Limited
- Akona
The main discussion points during the meeting, for NSAR and Network Rail to discuss further, are:
- Could a new Trainer or Assessor deliver under a probationary (P) status whilst waiting for their First Time Observation? This mirrors the competency cycles for certain assured capabilities.
- Can a new Trainer or Assessor use their mentored delivery to gain their Trainer/Assessor qualifications?
- Can NSAR produce guidance for new Trainers and Assessors on their RTAS application, route to assurance and route to capability?
- Does the current Route to Capability clause in RTAS lead to unnecessary training or assessing capabilities?
- Can we explore transferability between capabilities? Can we investigate more capabilities that can be auto-awarded (such as COSS/IWA) to reduce the requirement for mentoring and observations?
- 2 x 100% delivery in three months leads to planning issues and providers splitting courses, this is difficult to accommodate with rare capabilities.
- Can the mentoring window be increased to from three to six months to allow providers more time to plan?
- Capacity is a major issue for smaller organisations and family businesses, where the conflict of interest for mentoring causes them to have to source mentoring from a competitor.
In specific areas where there are significant trainer shortages (NP/AP, PICOP/SPICOP), we want to investigate other routes to capability in lieu of observations. This may include:
- Checklist including qualifications/operational use of competency and other CPD.
- Professional discussion with the Technical Authority.
- Interview or professional discussion with a Professional Association (TWI/IRSE/PWI/RICA).
- Expanding the already successful ‘bootcamp’ model to create sector specific bootcamps to create new OTP/OTM/OLE Trainers and Assessors.
We would like to thank the Training Providers again for their input during this highly constructive session. The points are being reviewed and updates will be provided on any progress made. We aim to provide further consultation on our progress very soon.