03.08.16
London Midland adopts new apprenticeship standard
London Midland is recruiting four apprentices in one of the new standards announced by the National Skills Academy for Rail (NSAR) earlier this year.
The level 3 rail engineering technician apprentices will complete a three-year placement, developed with the National Training Academy for Rail (NTAR) in Northampton and Birmingham Metropolitan College (BMet).
They will spend their first and second years at BMet and part of the summer at NTAR, before spending most of their third year gaining workplace experience.
Kirk Trewin, head of fleet production at London Midland, said: “Demand for rail travel is growing in the UK and globally. This is a fantastic new opportunity for young people to be trained in skills which are highly relevant to the rail industry.
“We are delighted to be the first train service to provide this type of apprenticeship scheme, which we firmly believe will open many doors for a new wave of rail employees in years to come.”
In May, NSAR announced that it had developed level 2, 3 and 4 apprenticeship standards for rail engineering operative, technician and advanced technician posts, in partnership with a group of rail employers.
The apprenticeships are designed to meet the staffing shortage facing the rail industry, with John Evans, CEO of the HS2 college, warning at the recent iRail event that 36,000 more graduate engineers are needed every year to deliver major projects such as HS2.
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