Rail Youth Promise (RYP)

Rail Forum is a proud signatory of the Rail Youth Promise (RYP).

The Rail Youth Promise (RYP) is a sector-wide charter uniting organisations across the rail industry to increase the number of young people entering and progressing within the workforce.

By sharing knowledge, resources and best practice, the RYP helps create a more inclusive, resilient and future-ready railway workforce.

The 5 Rail Youth Promise Pillars

Click to view the five key pillars of the RYP Charter below…

Inspire

Inspire the next generation to see rail as a dynamic and rewarding career choice and equip young people with the skills and confidence to succeed.

Hire

Create fair, accessible and ambitious entry routes into rail careers that reflect the diversity of young people's backgrounds, aspirations and abilities.

Learn

Provide young people with the skills, support and safe environments they need to thrive in the rail industry.

Grow

Enable young people to progress, stay and succeed in long-term rail careers.

Connect

Reduce travel barriers improving access to opportunities across the conutry.

Below are some example of how the Rail Youth Promise sets out to achieve the commitments of the five pillars:

Inspire

Inspire the next generation to see rail as a dynamic and rewarding career choice and equip young people with the skills and confidence to succeed.

Promote the breadth of opportunities across the rail sector
Work with schools, colleges and trusted partners to equip young people with the skills to access those opportunities.

Examples

Participate in targeted outreach activities for young people Aged 11+ to build early interest and understanding of the rail industry.
Work with schools and further education colleges to embed essential skills within activities and curriculum-linked interventions, provide coaching on essential skills to marginalised groups, run employability workshops.
Create and expand taster days, work experience opportunities, and interactive workshops which link with potential entry pathways providing a clearer picture of career possibilities in rail. Connect with older youth and those not in education or training by working with trusted partners to provide insight days, application support, and direct access to employment or apprenticeship schemes.

Hire

Create fair, accessible and ambitious entry routes into rail careers that reflect the diversity of young people’s backgrounds, aspirations and abilities.

1. Set ambitious targets to increase the number of young people entering rail.

2. Expand entry level opportunities, including Foundation and Level 2 apprenticeships, as routes into long-term careers.

3. Adopt, evidence-based inclusive recruitment practices and remove unnecessary barriers to entry.

Examples

Make entry routes and progression pathways clear, accessible and easy for young people to navigate
Provide constructive feedback to all interviewees to support their development and future success.
Expand work placement offering through trusted delivery partners or intermediaries
Strengths-based approach to interviewing

Learn

Provide young people with the skills, support and safe environments they need to thrive in the rail industry.

Support the development and delivery of new and reformed apprenticeship standards and new pre-apprenticeship opportunities
Ensure safeguarding and wellbeing through mandatory training, informed by Railway Children, NSPCC guidance and legal review.

Examples

Equip managers and supervisors to support young people effectively including supervision, mental health awareness and generational inclusion.
Work with educators, providers and delivery partners across the RYP hubs to align learning with real rail roles.

Grow

Enable young people to progress, stay and succeed in long‑term rail careers

Create visible progression pathways from entry level roles into skilled, professional and leadership positions.
Use data to identify and address gaps in social mobility, representation and progression.
Support key transition points (e.g., apprentice‑to‑employee, supervisor to first line manager roles, and returners) to reduce dropout and early attrition.

Examples

Streamline and accelerate training pathways to reduce time to competence and remove barriers to entry and progression for young people.
Embed youth voice in decision making by involving young people in governance strategy and service design.
Deliver structured mentoring and coaching for early career professionals
Build strong early-career communities to connect, support and signpost opportunities for young people.
Support Young Rail Professionals to help attract, develop and retain young people

Connect

Reduce travel barriers so young people can better access opportunities for both work experience and work opportunities.

Remove or reduce transport cost (e.g. rail costs) for all interviews, work experience, internships and apprenticeships within the railway.
Commit to supporting and contributing to rail card and concession reviews to enable rail to become a viable, sustainable and affordable method for young people to gain meaningful employment nationwide.

Why the Rail Youth Promise Matters

The future of the railway depends on attracting, developing and retaining the next generation of talent. Yet young people remain under-represented across the rail workforce, despite the sector offering a diverse range of rewarding careers with clear progression opportunities. The Rail Youth Promise brings organisations together around a shared commitment to inspire, hire, support and develop young people, helping them build successful and fulfilling careers in rail.

Rail Forum's Commitment

Rail Forum is proud to support the Rail Youth Promise and its ambition to create a more inclusive, sustainable and future-ready industry. Supporting young people into rail careers has long been a key part of our work through initiatives such as education outreach, skills programmes and industry engagement activities that showcase the breadth of opportunities available across the sector. By signing up to the Rail Youth Promise, we are reaffirming our commitment to helping young people discover the railway, develop valuable skills and access the opportunities needed to thrive within our industry.

Read RYP Commitments

Read RYP Introduction Pack

RYP's aim is to increase the number of people working in rail so that we are more representative of the national population (currently young people make up 12% of our population).

To achieve this, we must work together as an industry to make a step change in the way the industry interacts with young people.

Find Out More