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Monday 2 Sep 2013

'You're Hired' - latest Wales apprentices take to the tracks

Region & Route:

| Wales & Western: Wales & Borders

| Wales & Western

Network Rail Wales/Cymru today welcomes its new intake of 12 apprentices. Ten of the apprentices are from the south Wales valleys and have been recruited following a targeted campaign to attract more people from across the M4 corridor, including the valleys - in readiness for the electrification of the railways in the area.

All the new apprentices have successfully completed their first year of Network Rail’s advanced apprenticeship scheme and have started their practical training with maintenance teams across Wales.

Mark Langman, Network Rail’s route managing director for Network Rail Wales/Cymru, said: “The rail network in Wales is poised for growth with our modernisation plan and the electrification of the south Wales network and we need a highly skilled and dedicated workforce to support that. The opportunities within the railway are extensive and varied and we want to encourage more young people, including people from rural Wales, to consider developing a career with us.

“Our experienced engineers will further the apprentices’ on-the-job training, teaching these new recruits all they need to know to become invaluable members of the Network Rail team. They can be proud to be part of a company which helps move millions of people and thousands of tonnes of freight every day.”

Jon Seegolun, an overhead line apprentice from Cardiff and who joined the scheme last year, said: “I really want to progress within the rail industry and the apprenticeship scheme is a great way to gain experience and learn about the railway at the same time. I have worked on track before as a labourer and was always interested in what Network Rail was doing. I am now training to work on the electrification programme and am very excited about my future. I would definitely recommend the scheme to anyone who was considering applying.”

The first year of the award-winning three-year scheme is spent at Europe’s largest engineering training facility at HMS Sultan in Hampshire. There apprentices specialise in either track, signalling, telecoms or 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 to add to the experience gained on the rail network.

Since 2005, Network Rail has trained 1050 apprentices across Britain through the three year scheme with a further 600 currently still in training.

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