Network Rail has announced its Advanced Apprenticeship scheme is to expand next year, enabling the organisation to take on a further 140 new trainees…
The number of apprentices taken on by Network Rail is set to increase after the firm pledged to recruit 140 new trainees for March 2017.
The new places will swell the number of apprentices to 300 and expand the Advanced Apprenticeship scheme by 50 per cent.
The three-year scheme offers young people the opportunity to “earn while they learn”. The scheme will take students in March and September.
The Advanced Apprenticeship will also move to a new home near Coventry in the West Midlands. Apprentices spend the first five months of the programme at the training centre. Here, they specialise in one of the following areas:
- Electrification and plant
- Overhead lines
- Signalling
- Telecoms or track
Apprentices are then given hands-on training on the railway’s front line, gaining knowledge and skills from experienced team members.
Network Rail group HR director Ian Iceton said: “Network Rail has been committed to providing opportunities for young people to develop and progress into a rewarding career for more than ten years. Britain’s railways are one of this country’s success stories and apprentices are a vital part of our 36,000-strong team working to deliver our £40 billion Railway Upgrade Plan to make our railway better and bigger.
“I urge anyone that has the determination, talent and enthusiasm to work in a role where you not only make a difference every single day but also contribute to building the railway for the future to join us by applying for the Advanced Apprenticeship scheme today.”
The scheme is undoubtedly popular, receiving more than 4,000 applications last year. It also has a high rate of success, with a total of 85 per cent of those who started the scheme in 2005 still working for Network Rail.
The scheme gives the apprentice qualifications to work with Network Rail, including NVQ, BTec and ILM (Institute of Leadership and Management).
To apply for the scheme, applicants must be 18 by 1 March 2017 and must submit an application by 31 October.
For more details visit: http://www.networkrail.co.uk/apprentices.
