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How Veterans Can Help the UK Rail Industry Get Back on Track

There’s a disconnect in UK hiring right now. The rail industry faces a real and growing skills gap, with an ageing workforce, skills shortage, and a looming wave of infrastructure projects demanding boots on the ground. Meanwhile, around 15,000 service leavers exit the British Armed Forces each year. They’re highly skilled, disciplined, and technically skilled. Many have backgrounds like engineering, operations, and logistics that map closely to rail industry jobs. And yet, despite them being one of the most job-ready talent pools in the UK, they’re consistently under-represented in the industry. Why veterans make great rail professionals Veterans bring something that can’t be taught quickly or cheaply: Adaptability across disciplines Highly transferrable skills such as experience with complex systems, machinery, or infrastructure projects Problem-solving in high-pressure environments Resilience and work ethic Team leadership and accountability Traditional hiring methods that focus solely on CV keywords, linear job histories, and narrow industry experience often fail to recognise the broader potential that veterans bring. It’s not a pipeline problem; it’s a pathway problem Recognising this disconnect, we worked with a global rail transport solution company to build a bridge focused on bringing veteran talent into rail industry hiring without forcing them to start from scratch. Our recruiters operated as an extension of the company’s internal team, running the end-to-end process of sourcing to placement and aftercare, co-designing an inclusive hiring programme with the following goals: Targeted outreach to engage with ex-Forces communities and transition support organisations to make sure the right people were reached, not just those already on mainstream job platforms. CV and interview coaching to support service leavers in translating military experience into rail-relevant language. Removing unnecessary barriers throughout the process, streamlining requirements to prioritise transferable skills, mindset, aptitude, and adaptability. Providing clear training and onboarding pathways to ensure a smooth transition into the commercial, regulated rail environment. How you can start building your own bridge If you want to address the UK rail skills gap and open pathways for diverse workers, such as veterans, you have to revisit your strategy. Here’s what we’ve learned: Rethink your entry requirements Take a closer look at your job specs. Are you filtering out strong candidates by asking for “X years in rail” or a specific degree that isn’t essential to the role? Refocus on the skills and behaviour that matter. You’ll find this will broaden your talent pool to those who have the qualities and highly transferable skills you’re looking for. Invest in structured training and onboarding Veterans don’t need handholding, but like most new hires, they will need direction. With the right support in place – clear expectations, practical onboarding, and access to upskilling – you’ll help them close any knowledge gaps and boost their confidence, which will help them transition into their new role quicker. Build partnerships that open doors There are many amazing organisations like Bridge of Hope, 55/Redefined, The Back to Work (B2W) Group, Shaw Trust, and The Career Transition Partnership (CTP) that make the world of work more accessible. They specialise in supporting under-represented or overlooked talent, including veterans, and can help you build an inclusive hiring pipeline you may not have otherwise crossed paths with. Ready to look beyond the usual CV? Building skilled, diverse teams in rail doesn’t have to be a challenge. With the right strategy, you can bring in experienced, adaptable professionals, including veterans, who are ready to step in and make an impact. Whether you need to upskill talent through our Train to Deploy solution or want to hand over hiring with our trusted RPO model, our workforce solutions are built to help you get work done.Book a discovery session with our team to explore how we can help you find, train, and place the right people.

Five signs your hiring strategy needs a serious overhaul

Recruitment isn’t static. As your business evolves, you may find your hiring model will need to as well to keep pace. If your hiring process is feeling sluggish, expensive, or just plain frustrating, you’re not alone. The question is: how do you know when your recruitment model has stopped working for you? 1. Time to hire keeps slipping If your hiring process is dragging on, or strong candidates are dropping out before you can make an offer, something’s wrong. Long waits, vague comms, and endless interview rounds are the enemy of a good candidate experience. It could be anything from approval bottlenecks, interview delays, or slow feedback loops. If you’re not speeding up, you’re losing out. And it’ll only get worse if nothing changes. 2. Inconsistent hiring quality You’re filling positions, but the results are all over the place. One hire is a rockstar, the next doesn’t even make it through probation. This inconsistency can indicate issues across more than just your hiring processes; it could also be highlighting issues with engagement, employee retention, and onboarding, too. Are your candidates aligned with your culture? Is your onboarding process setting them up for success? Poor alignment and engagement during these early stages can lead to higher turnover and lacklustre performance down the road. If you’re not consistently setting hires up for success from the get-go, your model needs a rethink. 3. Peaks and troughs are causing chaos Hiring demand isn’t consistent. But your recruitment capacity usually is. The unpredictable nature of hiring demand can send your team scrambling, or leave them twiddling their thumbs during quiet periods. To avoid this chaos, you need a scalable model that flexes with your needs without sacrificing quality. If your hiring process isn’t adaptable, you’re in for a rough ride. You need a system that can flex with your needs. 4. Your team is always playing catch-up If your talent acquisition team is drowning in admin tasks and spreadsheets, you’ve got a problem. The real value of a recruitment team isn’t in managing systems and logistics; it’s in finding, engaging, and closing the right people. Automating administrative tasks and outsourcing non-strategic functions will free up your team to focus on the high-impact stuff. 5. You lack market intelligence Hiring in the dark is a surefire way to waste time and money. If you’re relying solely on internal data or gut feel to make decisions, you’re missing an important piece of the puzzle. Without access to market trends, salary benchmarks, and competitor insights, you’re essentially guessing about what talent is available, what they expect, and what they’re willing to accept. The right insights give you a clear view of the market, so you can make smarter hiring decisions and avoid costly mistakes. So, what’s next? If any of this sounds familiar, it’s time to take a hard look at your recruitment model. You need a process that aligns with your business goals and adapts to your evolving needs. At Rullion, we specialise in flexible, integrated recruitment solutions that adapt and scale to your unique business needs. Instead of treating recruitment as a problem to solve, we’ll help you make it a strategic asset. Ready to make recruitment work for you? Let’s chat to find out how we can help you get work done and build a strategic, data-driven recruitment strategy that can improve time-to-hire, candidate quality, and recruitment efficiency. Book a discovery session or learn more about our RPO solution for more information.