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Railway Association of Canada (RAC) and the Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC) agreed to work together to ensure the rail industry has skilled workers to meet future needs.


Participating community colleges and technology institutes will provide pre-employment training for traffic controllers, signals and communications technicians, conductors and locomotive engineers. Representing 57 Canadian freight and passenger railroads, RAC will provide regional hiring forecasts by occupation and work with members to hire graduates.


RAC and ACCC — which represents 150 Canadian colleges and technology institutes — also plan to jointly promote rail programs among Canadian youth, attract government funding and establish a steering committee to govern college-based pre-employment rail programs.


"Our industry needs the best and the brightest to maintain its leadership role in providing outstanding transportation services in Canada and North America," said RAC President and Chief Executive Officer Bill Rowat in a prepared statement.


The initiative would complement two existing courses designed and developed by RAC through its Institute of Railway Technology (IRT) at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) in Calgary.