How to get younger people interested in volunteering on Railways

That's one exam. I can point to the GWSR who's numbers have grown every year since the landslips.

 

I regret that is merely wishful thinking.

PH

 

Some have done better than others, it appears, and you are right that the GWSR has done well.

 

Indeed, so I don't think you can say passenger numbers are declining. Unless anyone has HRA figures?

 

Alex asked has anyone asked young people themselves? are we forgetting one thing, if a young adult wants to volunteer then railways should have someone who's job it is to ensure that young adult can do so, and that the necessary paperwork is to hand and that the structures are in place to enable that person to feel welcome to become involved that proper supervision is available, I worked with young volunteers both with the MHR and KESR so some railways are more than capable of ensuring the proper safety and supervision of its younger volunteers, after all these are the future of our respective railways , its more about the attitude of some managers to younger volunteers than any legal reason why younger volunteers should not be encouraged .

 

It's all very well saying the above but the railway needs people who are happy to give up part of their hobby to help supervise the youngsters.....not everyone is happy to do so.

The emphasise nowadays, until the law changes, is that whatever the under 16s get involved with it has to do with education and not work. Cleaning locos is classed as work and can't be done..... And one reason is that if an injury occurred the railways insurance is not valid due to, as per law from 1920 stated in an earlier post, under 16 not allowed to work in an industrial environment

 

That begs a number of questions about individuals' motivations. But the important thing is that any volunteer based organisation should be thinking about how to draw people into volunteering, if only as a question of self-preservation.

 

This country is obsessed with youth! Why do we get so hung up on attracting 'young' people? Why are young people seen as 'the future'? People seem to have this odd idea along the lines of "if you're not recruited by age 20, then you never will be, but if you are recruited before age 20 you'll stay for life."

Which is - with all due respect - complete cobblers!

From what I see on the days that some railways run to attract new volunteers, quite a few people seem to start volunteering in middle age. I don't see why preserved railways won't continue to attract a steady stream of older volunteers. Just because you're 45 or 50 or 55 doesn't mean you're past the point of any hope, completely useless and inevitably going to drop dead within a year or two! And, even if you do, more people are hitting middle age all the time.

Personally if I was in charge of new volunteers, I would prefer recruiting older people. Because with all that added life experience comes a bit of wisdom, better social skills, the ability to get out of bed in the morning and less inclination to skip off chasing the opposite sex!

 

Prospective volunteers of any age are a problem, most that would like to get involved are working all hours to pay the mortgage with retirement much further away then in the past.

Even those that do make it don't always realise the tasks that need doing, I've spent many a day unblocking toilets and urinals, litter picking and directing traffic in the pouring rain. Not pleasant at all but just as important to the running of the railway as driving or firing a loco.

 

Not at all. Not everyone wants to or is happy to work with youngsters. Some are happy for the odd occasion but not on a regular basis..

 

I agree to an extent, and I've said as much here before when this topic has come up. I tend to spend a whole day a week on the railway, but recently I've had exams, university open days, trips and a host of other things which means I won't have been on the railway for about 6 weeks. I'll be getting withdrawal symptoms! :nailbiting: When I go to Uni I'll have even less time, especially if I manage to get on the demanding course I want. Whereas, as you say, folk in later middle age are going to be able to commit more time over a longer period of time, and can often travel further to volunteer.

However, not everyone is in the same position as me. There's plenty of young people who either don't go to university or are still local enough that they can still commit the time. And, with respect, they tend to have more energy then some older folk. I think you're being rather unfair and stereotypical of teenagers. Sure older folk might have more wisdom, and I bow down to superior knowledge, yet already on some cases I know more about certain jobs than other people. I'm not convinced on the social skills front either. In my experience, the sort of teenagers who's only communication is grunting is unlikely to come and volunteer on a steam railway at all, or indeed anywhere else for that matter. There are plenty that can communicate beyond grunting! As it happens I quite enjoy most of the messroom chat, although when it comes to politics I do tend to just agree with the horrendously right-wing views sometimes expressed to keep things simple!

We can get out of bed early too! I'm sure loco crews won't be impressed at all by this, but I do have to get up before 6am sometimes, and always before 7am for a day's volunteering.

What's more, no matter what my involvement in the middle-term, I can't see a time where I wouldn't want to at least be a member of my railway, and if possible volunteer. At current life expectancy that is an awful lot of money. Whilst looking at universities and considering all the important stuff, at the back of my head there is still a little voice wondering where the nearest heritage railway is and would I like to volunteer there if I had the time (a decision I'd have to make after starting the course and seeing if I had the time).

Right, that's enough for now, but if anyone wants to discuss specifics, do feel free to PM me, as some things I would rather not post here.

 

I was on Shieldhall recently and there were a number of young volunteers, so it can be done.

I havnt visited for a while but there was also a 'gang' of rather spectacularly grubby boys who inhabited Cranmore Shed so either they were victims of serious neglect or doing some work

 

If you go to the East Somerset website and look at the pictures of the overhaul of the 2MT tank, you will see you are right.

PH

 

I'm not sure its the youth that should be regarded as the 'target' so to speak. In reality, and speaking of personal experience (and my view of piers when I was that age) the 13-18 year old whom (in general) are passionate about their hobby/interest soon get side tracked by ale, members of the opposite sex, music/youth culture/further education etc, and around that point hobbies soon take a ever decreasing lower interest level fading to almost zero as more seemingly attractive aspects of life that its place.

Once a little time passes and things such as marriage/children/work/whatever has become settled and some disposable income/time becomes available again, then these are the people that are more likely to support their chosen hobby/interest financially and with physical labour and may even bring usable skills to the task too.

For example at one location where I was working, the local area saw for maybe 6-8 weeks many of the local businesses, bars, restaurants, malls, parks ect host a free golf experience where a netted driving range, putting green, golf basics lessons etc were marketed by a local golf club. Apparently the club increased membership by 300% revenue went significantly up, the club restaurant/bar and shop saw records sales and for a fairly modest outlay. They targeted people 30-50 as these are the demographic that has time/money/potential new leasure interests.

As a few personal example or my view I know a couple of late 30's chaps who 'found' motorcycling in the last 18 months or so, both of which had never been on a bike previously. Another co-worker (mid 40s) who went to a air museum in 2014 and was so taken he now volunteers 5 or 6 times a month, and finally my executive manager who saw me drive to work in my classic car a couple of years ago and became so interested in that genre that he is now resorting a old car himself.

If your local railway targeted a similar demographic, and yes I understand that the above example are not a apples to apples analog, would that not offer a better medium-long term reward than the attention of a resource and experience poor teen with a fairly short (4-5 active years?) of immediate interest.

I become interested in railways when I was young, only to become more more interested in other stuff (predominantly ale/girls/work etc) and drifted away by 20 or so, I did return to my hobbies sometime in my mid 30s, that decade and a half or so spent else ware.

 

I think that one of the issues surrounding the recruitment of the younger generation is inclusion and retention. It's all very well getting them to come along and join but making sure you keep them can be difficult, specially if some of the older members feel superior or above that, or, as can be the case in volunteer groups, have some issues surrounding interaction with others.
One of the railways I volunteer at has a very active younger membership who are involved in all aspects of the railway from catering to locos and on train. The other one falls into the category of having some members who seem unable to include the youngsters, unless the young person has a very strong personality or happens to be related to one of the senior members. Although to be fair the problem there isn't just restricted to the youngsters who come along as new members.
So attracting the new member is just the start, retention is key as in any recruitment be it in the voluntary sector or industry.

 

OK I'm here to be the bad guy.

The long term problem for heritage railways (and almost all other expressions of volunteerism/civil society/social capital) is not age but race/culture.

How many of us have ever seen a non-white person visiting a heritage railway (not counting kids bused in on school trips) . Perhaps a few Asian families, that's about it. I did once take my black girlfriend for a trip from Sheringham to Holt and back but she was and remains the only black person I've ever seen there. And that's just visitors, the absence among volunteers appears to be total.

The UK is already 15% non-white and that percentage is increasing all the time. Thats 15% of the population who appear to have zero interest in heritage railways, after all it's not their history.

 

Wrong. Leaving aside the issues of evidence from anecdote, you are elevating race above all other factors affecting membership and volunteering.

To the extent that it is relevant, it applies equally well to the many many people (more being born every minute) for whom steam railways have no direct associations, and will just find them an attractively themed day out.

 

Evidence from anecdote - good point. Perhaps someone in the heritage sector has crunched the data? Meanwhile, anecdotally, have you noticed any railways where significant numbers of non-white people volunteer or even just visit? How many people are there posting on NP who are of a non-white background, how many Muslims? It may be more than zero but I wouldn't be at all surprised to find it was in fact zero.

Anecdotally - It's just occurred to me that I notice the same at model railway exhibitions. The demographics are about the same as Britain in 1946.

That 15% I mentioned is not a fixed point, the demographics of the UK are sliding out of control very fast:

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2011/jun/22/quarter-state-school-pupils-from-ethnic-minority

A quarter of England's under 18s are of groups who I contend, anecdotally, have zero interest in heritage railways, our history etc.

you are elevating race above all other factors affecting membership and volunteering

No, I'm saying it should be factored in. I suspect, anecdotally, that it will turn out to be the most important single factor of all.

 

I agree that it will be a factor, but I think that last assumption says more about you than anything else. You are elevating the position of 1/4 of the population to determine the support of 100% of the population.

As a 40-something father of 2 primary age kids, I can assure you that there are plenty of factors that limit my ability to attend, let alone volunteer at, preserved railways. Off the top of my head, factors that come to mind are:

• kids' weekend activities
• family time
• church attendance
• other interests
• volunteering for church
• a busy professional job
• my daughter's lack of interest in railways

I'm sure others will be able to expand on that list.