After the alarm on the high energy price raised on Wednesday at the Mercintreno forum by the railway freight transport companies, a new front is now opening up: that of employment. FerMerci, the association that brings together the main railway cargo operators active in Italy (including Mercitalia of the FS group, Hupac, Medlog and Medway of the MSC group, Rail traction company of the Autobrennero group), proposes to the government to launch a major national plan for the recruitment and training of young train drivers.
FerMerci explains: «The sector has been complaining for some time about the shortage of railway traffic workers, in particular train drivers, estimated at around 3 thousand units and, despite the widespread youth unemployment in Italy, the regulatory tools necessary to support the training activity are still inadequate personal again. According to FerMerci, the time horizon of this plan should be the next three years.
Aging workforce
In Europe, in the railway sector, the aging workforce continues to be a concern, especially for Spain, Greece and Italy, where over 50% of workers are over 50 and those under 30 represent less than 5% of the total. Today in Italy the rail cargo market share is 11.9%, below the European average (16.8%), much lower than the data of Switzerland and Austria (around 35%) and much more lower than that of the United States (46%).
However, the European Union is betting heavily on the development of rail cargo, to reduce the number of lorries circulating on Europe’s roads and to transfer the largest possible volumes of goods from road to rail over distances of more than 300 kilometres. It is reasonable to think that, despite the current difficulties, the rail cargo sector is destined to grow in the coming years. Hence the search for new personnel.
The training problem
FerMerci continues: «Alongside recruitment there is the problem of training. A train driver, to be trained and become operational, requires a path that goes from 6 to 9 months. Today we have to start investing in the resources that will have to be ready when the economy recovers. We need an investment that directs young people towards sectors that can guarantee full employment. Training is an anti-cyclical investment». In the Pnrr, youth employment support is present across all missions.