Supporting Rail’s sector-wide commitment to young people

In this blog, our Senior Employer Engagement Manager, Kate Carr, reflects on embedding evidence into the Rail Youth Promise.

The launch of the Rail Youth Promise marks an important moment for the rail sector’s commitment to supporting more young people into good work.

By signing up to the Rail Youth Promise, employers commit to increase the number of young people entering and progressing within their workforce. Incorporating evidence on what works, the Promise framework provides guidance on how the rail industry can break down barriers and drive inclusion for young people, particularly those from marginalised backgrounds.

At a time when tackling youth unemployment is a national priority, the Promise encapsulates how employers and young people can benefit when a sector comes together around a shared challenge. Across the country, too many young people are struggling to access sustainable employment. At the same time, the rail sector is facing significant workforce pressures, including skills shortages and an ageing workforce.

At Youth Futures Foundation, our role is to build, test and translate evidence on what helps young people secure and thrive in good work, so employers and policymakers can make informed decisions about where to focus their efforts. The Rail Youth Promise demonstrates how that evidence can be translated into practical action at sector level, helping employers focus on the approaches most likely to have the greatest impact.

Turning ambition into action

Today, young people make up just 6.8% of the rail workforce, despite accounting for around 12% of the wider workforce. Meanwhile, more than 75,000 rail employees are expected to retire by 2030. To meet future workforce needs, nearly one-third of all new hires will need to be aged 16-24. The scale of the rail sector’s workforce challenge means that creating opportunities for young people is not simply a social objective; it is a business imperative. But meeting that ambition requires more than creating opportunities. It requires understanding which approaches are most effective in helping young people access, progress and succeed in work.

Drawing on our robust evidence base, we have worked closely with our rail sector partners to help ensure that the Rail Youth Promise reflects the best available insight on supporting young people into employment. This means the Promise is not built solely around aspiration. It is informed by evidence about the practical steps employers can take to widen access to opportunities, strengthen recruitment and progression pathways, and create working environments in which young people can thrive. The result is a sector-wide commitment that provides a clear framework for action while recognising that meaningful change happens through the cumulative impact of many employers making evidence-informed decisions.

Learning and improving together

While the existing evidence base provides a strong foundation, there is still much to learn about what works best in recruitment, retention and progression. Through our ongoing research and partnerships with employers, including our What Works for Recruitment and Retention programme, we are continuing to build the evidence on the questions that matter most: how recruitment processes can be made more inclusive, how young people can be better supported to stay and progress in work, and which workplace practices have the greatest impact on outcomes.

As that evidence develops, it will continue to inform our work with employers and sectors, helping ensure initiatives such as the Rail Youth Promise can evolve and strengthen over time. This commitment to continuous learning is important. Employers do not need to wait for every answer before taking action. They can act on the best available evidence and insight today while remaining open to adapting and improving their approach as new insights emerge.

A shared opportunity

The Rail Youth Promise demonstrates the potential of a sector-wide approach: bringing employers together around a common goal and a shared commitment to evidence-informed action. For the rail industry, that means building the workforce it needs for the future. For young people, it means greater access to quality opportunities and pathways into good work. Neither can be achieved by any one organisation alone. Progress depends on policymakers, employers, industry bodies and young people themselves working together to understand what works and apply those insights in practice.

As other sectors grapple with skills shortages, workforce renewal and changing talent needs, there is an opportunity to apply the same principles more widely. As the evidence base continues to grow, so too does the opportunity to apply what we know across sectors. The Rail Youth Promise is an encouraging example of that approach in practice—and we look forward to working with other sectors that share the same ambition.