Thursday 26 Jun 2014
West Midlands apprentices help to build a better railway as they start work on the front line
- Region & Route:
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.
A total of 11 apprentices from the West Midlands completed the first stage of their training as part of Network Rail’s award-winning three-year scheme at Europe’s largest engineering training facility at HMS Sultan in Hampshire.
The apprentices specialise in track, signalling, telecoms and electrification and plant and during their second and third years experience work on front line, gaining vital experience while returning to HMS Sultan for additional courses and development.
David Pratt (20) from Kidderminster, and based at Network Rail's Stafford depot, is specialising in installing and maintaining overhead line equipment, a much-needed set of skills as electrification projects are progressed around the network.
Commenting on his apprenticeship, David said: "My dad and grandad both worked on the railways and I liked the variety that the scheme offered. Not many people will send you away from home for a year to learn about a trade and industry and it's definitely been a worthwhile experience. Network Rail will support you in what you want to do and you can plan your pathway within the business and get help to achieve it.
“An apprenticeship really competes with university or college and having done it I’m really glad I took this path. It’s a good mix of theory and practical."
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 David 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.
The three-year programme equips apprentices with the skills and experience to become a maintenance engineering technician. There are five programmes: track, signals, electrification and plant, signal design and telecoms. Each one gives an apprentice the chance to work in a critical area of the business, where their development will continue beyond the three years of the scheme.
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Notes to editors
About the Network Rail advanced apprenticeship 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 pay for accommodation and food and provide the clothing and personal protective equipment required. There are holiday benefits: 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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