UK: The Railway Industry Association has published recommendations for actions to help British rail sector SMEs increase their exports.
These include:
- better signposting of available exports support and related training;
- a more co-ordinated approach to sharing overseas market intelligence;
- clearer visibility of UK Export Finance services for unlocking financial support and access to procurement opportunities;
- the creation of strong relationships between Tier 1 companies and SMEs to bring increased export value to the UK economy
RIA said the report based on discussion at a SME Exports Workshop held earlier this year is intended as a starting point for industry and stakeholders to work together to improve rail exports and the support available to UK exporters. It is now looking to work with stakeholders including the Department for Business & Trade, UKEF, Department for Transport and Innovate UK to form a working group to address the recommendations and develop an action plan.
The association said current UK rail exports amount to over £1bn/year and support nearly 12 500 jobs, with ‘significant potential’ to increase this.
‘This membership consultation exercise is a call to action for the government and those in a position to influence to give more support to companies who contribute to our export economy’, said Joy Grover, RIA’s RELG Chair and associate director at PriestmanGoode, on September 9.
‘It particularly highlights the challenges faced by smaller UK rail companies who are considering exporting or aiming to increase their export income. It is essential to preserve our supply chain in the UK, not only for economic success, but also to ensure that when infrastructure projects are released in the UK, a domestic supply chain still exists to deliver them.’
