Thursday 26 Jun 2014
Apprentices get to work on the Western rail network
- Region & Route:
- | Wales & Western: Western
- | Wales & Western
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.
Joe Milne, 19, is from Pilton in Somerset and is one of 36 apprentices that have joined depots across the West. Joe will be working with the telecoms team based in Bristol. ”My cousin did the apprenticeship and is now working as a signal engineer. I was attracted to the scheme as it has really good career prospects,“ he said.
“I’ll be 21 when I graduate and on a good wage, more than I’d be able to get anywhere else. Unlike my friends at university, I’m not getting into debt and I can still do a degree at the end.”
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 Joe 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.
Contact information
Passengers / community members
Network Rail national helpline
03457 11 41 41
Latest travel advice
Please visit National Rail Enquiries
Journalists
Network Rail press office -Western route
MediaRelationsWestern@networkrail.co.uk
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.
Follow us on Twitter: @networkrail
Visit our online newsroom: www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk