TPE celebrate National Apprenticeship Week by opening the door for future rail workers

The train operator now has more than 105 apprentices working across several different areas within the company such as customer experience, train planning, engineering, major projects and trainee drivers.

Of those apprentices, nineteen are currently undertaking part in the two-year young apprenticeship program with the train operator. They are all benefitting from learning the skills and knowledge needed to follow a career in the rail sector, while earning a wage at the same time.

Becky Titterington, Talent and Apprenticeship Manager at TransPennine Express said: “Our apprenticeship gives inspiring people from across the North and into Scotland the opportunity to experience working across some of the different and varied areas of the business, whilst adding to their personal growth with the option of completing the Duke of Edinburgh Gold award.

“FirstGroup and TPE are committed to bringing talent into the business and the apprenticeship scheme plays a vital role in achieving that. Apprentices continue to be a fantastic asset to TPE, bringing a fresh perspective, questioning mind and passion to support our vision.”

Last year 87.5% of TPE’s apprentices obtained a full-time position upon completion of their qualification.

Leah Brook is one of those individuals who has gone on to secure a full-time position within TPE. Leah, now a Customer Information Assistant said: “The apprenticeship scheme is a unique opportunity and one that can be extremely rewarding, as I found out.

“Learning about different aspects of the business gave me an opportunity to grow my skill set all whilst earning a wage at the same time, the hard work paid off too and I’m delighted to now work in a full-time role at TPE.”

People can register their interest in a TPE apprenticeship via the Early Careers Apprenticeships Talent Registration Page on the FirstGroup website. When vacancies become available, those who have signed up will receive an alert signposting them to the live vacancies.

TransPennine Express is an intercity rail provider with a vision to Take the North Further.