Media centre

Wednesday 18 Feb 2015

Wanted! 18 apprentices from the east of England

Region & Route:

| Eastern: Anglia

| Eastern

Network Rail is seeking to recruit 18 young people from the east of England for its award-winning apprenticeship scheme, as it continues the largest investment into the railway since Victorian times.

The scheme offers anyone over the age of 17, a fantastic opportunity to earn while they learn, gain valuable qualifications and skills, and to build a career in engineering. There are 200 apprenticeship places available across the UK for this year’s scheme.

More than 2,000 people have joined the scheme since 2005. These include school and college leavers as well as those who were unhappy with their jobs, and chose to go back into training to secure a more stable, long-term career.

Bradley Walker from Essex is a second year apprentice and specialises in track. The 19-year-old said: “Don't be frightened by the word engineer – it's not just grease and spanners. There are so many routes this could take me. There is a national shortage of engineers, so this is a great time to get into it.”

Ian Iceton, human resources director at Network Rail, said: “We’re investing £38bn into upgrading and improving the railway so there’s never been a better time to join us. Our apprentices earn while they learn, gain top quality qualifications and are part of a 35,000 strong team helping people safely take more than 1.5 billion journeys every year. I urge anyone who is interested in building a career where you can make a real difference to apply to be a Network Rail apprentice today.”

The first year of the three-year scheme is spent at Europe’s largest engineering training facility at the Royal Navy’s HMS Sultan in Hampshire. There apprentices train in one of five core specialist areas: track, signalling, telecoms, electrification and plant and overhead lines.

During their second and third years they experience work on the rail network’s front line, gaining vital skills as they train to become maintenance technicians. This on-the-job training is completed by further off-railway learning at our training centres. The 18 apprentices would work at either Ipswich, Tottenham or Romford depots.

The Network Rail Advanced Apprenticeship scheme is open to anyone who is 17 by 31st August 2015. Further details on the scheme, including case studies of current and former apprentices talking about their own experiences, can be found on our website: http://www.networkrail.co.uk/apprentices.