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Tuesday 6 Feb 2024

Number of rail apprenticeships in Greater Manchester continues to grow

TRU has so far taken on 41 apprentices in Greater Manchester, who have been involved in some of the projects biggest pieces of work across the city region, including the installation of overhead electrical wires between Manchester and Stalybridge which will come into use later this year.

The Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) is close to reaching the halfway mark of its ambitious aim to take on 590 apprentices across the rail upgrade between Manchester and York, via Leeds and Huddersfield.

Apprentices are working in various disciplines across TRU, including Civil Engineering, Project Management, Quantity Surveying and Ecology, while simultaneously undertaking a degree and applying theory learned in academia on the largest rail project in the North of England.

The number of apprentices on the multi-billion-pound programme has already reached 264, primarily recruited from locations along the route, and amounting to £14.3 million in value to society, according to the Rail Social Value Tool.

Apprentices on TRU identify the cost of living crisis, tuition fee debt, career prospects and enhanced hands-on learning as reasons for choosing apprenticeships.

TRU, which recently secured a further £3.9 bn of governmental funding, marks the milestone during National Apprenticeship Week, which takes place 5-12 February.

TRU is creating tens of thousands of jobs both directly and indirectly, including 8,000 new and safeguarded roles, with 60% of the construction workforce employed from within 25 miles of the route and 80% within 40 miles.

TRU is also set to deliver a minimum 50p value to society for every £1 spent on construction, generating £4.28 billion of social value, as outlined in the TRU Sustainability Strategy ‘Our Guiding Compass’ which was published last Summer.

The TRU stations in Greater Manchester are Manchester Victoria, Stalybridge, Mossley and Greenfield, all of which are set to be upgraded with extended platforms for longer trains, full accessibility and electrification of the route for faster, greener trains.

Ellis Mills, TRU Project Management Apprentice based in Manchester said:

“I have developed my communications skills, leadership skills and learned the art of dealing with challenging behaviours during my apprenticeship with TRU.”

“One of the reasons I took it was to pay my parents a bit of rent. We’re a family of five and it's quite hard. There are people my age who at 18, 19, 20 want to support their parents while times are quite hard.”

“But the part I have enjoyed the most of my apprenticeship is the networking; speaking with people from across such a large project every day has allowed me to learn so much.”

Christopher Walker, TRU Commercial Apprentice based in Manchester said:

“Someone I know went to a good university and got a first-class honours degree in architecture, but couldn’t get a job due to lack of experience. I didn’t want that to happen, I wanted to work in what I’ve chosen to do. That was the main deciding factor in choosing an apprenticeship for me.”

“There's a miscomprehension that you get paid very little to be someone’s printing assistant, getting told what to do. But the truth is that companies like TRU put time and effort into developing you as an apprentice.”

Neil Holm, TRU Managing Director said:

“Providing opportunities through apprenticeships is at the heart of the TRU story. A railway fit for the North of England is being built by the communities through which TRU travels.

“Our nearly 590 apprentices are key to the TRU programme and reaching the halfway point of our ambitious apprenticeship intake underlines our commitment to developing skills and employment prospects for TRU communities.”

TRU apprentices of various disciplines are available to interview across broadcast, digital and print media. Please contact alec.herron@networkrail.co.uk.