Two Doncaster teens begin their engineering careers with apprenticeships

Matthew MacDonald, from Sprotbrough, and Lewis Marran, from Hatfield, will be among nine apprentices, all aged between 16 and 19, who will be trained in engineering to work within the maintenance department at Drax Power Station.

The station, near Selby, has increased its intake of apprentices this year by almost 50 per cent as part of its drive to retain and develop its in house engineering skill and expertise.

Andy Koss, Drax Power CEO said: “I welcome this year’s apprentices, they have a really bright future ahead of them.

“Apprenticeships are vital to our success as a business. Having talented people at all stages of their careers is important in building and retaining the skilled workforce we need, if we are to continue to innovate and enable the business to grow.

“As one of the major employers in the Northern Powerhouse region, we have an important role to play in helping to drive up standards in education by making sure children and young people have inspirational experiences in the world of work.

“At Drax we’re delivering on that, both by increasing the number of apprenticeships we’re offering and through the outreach work we do with schools and colleges which enables thousands of students to visit the power station each year.”

The Drax apprenticeship training scheme is a four year programme which specialises in three engineering disciplines; mechanical, electrical and control and instrumentation.