Rail operator seeks more women to train as drivers

A leading rail operator is launching a campaign to attract more women and young people to consider a career in the industry.

Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), which runs Southern, Thameslink, Northern and Gatwick Express, said it is encouraging women to apply for trainee driver jobs, working towards having 40% female trainee drivers by 2021.

The company said it also wants to help young people from disadvantaged backgrounds find full-time jobs on the railways.

GTR said just 5% of Britain’s 19,000 train drivers are women, adding that, on Southern last year, almost a third of trainee driver roles were taken up by women.

Andy Bindon, human resources director at GTR, said: “This is a fantastic industry to work in, offering real career development and opportunities.

“We want our teams to reflect the communities they serve; the aim is for our growing driver population to mirror the local population with representation across society.

“We have so many opportunities for rewarding careers from engineering and driving, to marketing and web design, so the perception of rail being male-dominated just isn’t the reality.

“We have the biggest training and recruitment programme in rail in the UK so this progressive approach will help our organisation flourish and help to drive change across the sector.”