Hey! My name’s Sally and I'm a Signaller.
I wanted to tell you a little bit
about the history of education and skills on the railway.
Nearly 200 years ago, way back in 1828,
the Institution of Civil Engineers received a Royal Charter
to professionalise civil engineering, including railway engineering!
A few years later, in 1843,
Swindon Works was established as a major
training centre for apprentices,
shaping generations of skilled railway workers.
To look after railway workers and their families.
The National Union of Railwaymen was formed in 1913,
providing a collective voice for workers.
In 1948,
the British government nationalised the railways,
merging the “Big Four” railway companies into “British Railways”.
More recently, in 2005, Network Rail set up the Advance
Apprenticeship Scheme to train apprentices
to become maintenance technicians.
As you can see,
there's been a lot of learnings and skills
development on the railway
over the past 200 years!
If you'd like to find out more
about how we're marking 200 years
of passenger rail travel,
visit railway200.co.uk