Thursday 26 Jun 2014
Apprentices get to work on rail network’s front line
- Region & Route:
- National
More than 200 apprentices have joined railway maintenance teams across Britain to start their on-the-job training after successfully completing the first year of the Network Rail Advanced Apprenticeship Scheme.
Omar Bingham, 22, has joined the track maintenance team based at London Bridge. Unusually, Omar joined the apprenticeship scheme after obtaining a BSc in aerospace engineering: “I’ve always liked planes but the course just wasn’t for me. I wanted to fall in love with engineering again after the disappointment of my degree choice. I went to a recruitment fair and met two Network Rail apprentices who told me about their experience. I applied then and there.”
The first year of Network Rail’s award-winning three-year scheme is spent at Europe’s largest engineering training facility at HMS Sultan in Hampshire. There apprentices specialise in track, signalling, telecoms and electrification and plant. During their second and third years they experience work on the rail network’s front line, gaining vital experience as they train to become maintenance technicians. Throughout this time they regularly return to HMS Sultan for further courses and training.
Neal Lawson, maintenance and operations services director at Network Rail said: “We are committed to building a better railway for Britain and we need a highly skilled workforce to help us meet that challenge. By developing the talented and enthusiastic people that come through our apprenticeship scheme we can help create a workforce that will be vital to our future success. I wish Omar and all his fellow apprentices good luck as they join their new teams to continue their training out on the network.”
Network Rail’s Advanced Apprenticeship Scheme is open to applicants over 17 years of age and has no upper age limit. Apprentices come from all over the nation and range from those who have just left school or college to those changing careers. All share an interest in engineering. As Chris Hinde, a 35-year-old apprentice from Preston says: “I was unhappy in the job that I was doing where I was stuck behind a desk, but I thought that I couldn’t do anything else because of my age. I have a three-year-old daughter so it’s been hard moving away from home but this has given me a second chance. I’m confident that I’ll never get bored at work again”.
Notes to editors
About the Network Rail advanced apprenticeship scheme:
It is a three-year programme that equips you with the skills and experience to become a maintenance engineering technician. www.facebook.com/ontrack
There are five engineering programmes: track, signals, electrification and plant, signal design and telecoms. Each one gives you the chance to work in a critical area of the business, where your development will continue beyond the three years of the scheme.
Paid learning:
In the first year, apprentices will be paid £8,400 + £1,150 when they successfully finish the year; the salary will rise to £11,750 in the second; and £14,000 in the third.
In the first year, Network Rail will also feed, pay for accommodation and provide the clothing and personal protective equipment that they need. There are plenty of holidays: 28 days plus bank holidays. Network Rail will pay for apprentices to travel home for long weekends and Christmas, Easter and summer holidays.
Qualifications:
After three years, apprentices will have the qualifications (NVQ, BTec and ILM (Institute of Leadership and Management)) and skills to develop a long-term career with Network Rail. Many apprentices complete their first year and soon start to think about their career options – and many set their sights on becoming technical officers, team leaders or managers. There are even further opportunities to study a foundation degree for those who demonstrate the commitment and ability.
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About Network Rail
We own, operate and develop Britain's railway infrastructure; that's 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK's largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country's train operating companies.
Usually, there are almost five million journeys made in the UK and over 600 freight trains run on the network. People depend on Britain's railway for their daily commute, to visit friends and loved ones and to get them home safe every day. Our role is to deliver a safe and reliable railway, so we carefully manage and deliver thousands of projects every year that form part of the multi-billion pound Railway Upgrade Plan, to grow and expand the nation's railway network to respond to the tremendous growth and demand the railway has experienced - a doubling of passenger journeys over the past 20 years.
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