Nexus, which owns and manages the Tyne and Wear Metro, has seen a higher number of women apply for its engineering apprenticeship scheme – with the recruitment process running until March 31.
Hundreds have applied for the training so far, double the number of females compared to last year, with just ten places up for grabs.
Nexus say that all applicants will be judged on their qualifications and suitability for the role, and not just their gender, but it was encouraged that more women had shown an interest in the training scheme.
Nexus expanded its apprenticeship programme in 2013 with the aim of taking on ten apprentices a year over a three year period. Delivered in partnership with Gateshead College, it offers an ideal opportunity to start a career in rail engineering.
Successful applicants learn a variety of engineering disciplines associated with the maintenance and modernisation the Metro system, which carries 38 million passengers a year.
Director of Rail and Infrastructure for Nexus, Raymond Johnstone, said: “We have been inundated with applications this year and it’s great that more women are showing an interest in engineering.
“I’m delighted with the amount of interest that we have had so far and it is nice to be able to say that during national apprenticeship week.
“This is our third consecutive year of apprentice recruitment. It’s vital that we get the right people in now so that we lower the age profile of our organisation and secure the right skills for the long term future of the Tyne and Wear Metro.”
The successful applicants, who start work in the autumn, will carry out training at Gateshead College and at the Nexus rail engineering base at South Gosforth in Newcastle.
Nexus is looking for new recruits interested in building a long-term career with the public body which owns, manages and is modernising the Tyne and Wear Metro in a £389m investment programme.
Last year Nexus received over 400 hundred applications which met the minimum requirements for the scheme, and the field had to be whittled down to just ten people.
Nexus has a long history of employing apprentices but has more than doubled the size of its programme from four to ten new starters per year since 2013, to ensure vital skills are retained as the profile of its current rail engineering workforce gets older.
It has overhauled and expanded its advanced engineering training programme in partnership with expert provider Gateshead College, having previously sent apprentices to other parts of the country for basic training.
Gateshead College is one of the region’s leading providers of apprenticeships and has been working with Nexus since 2013 on a tailor made programme covering all aspects of rail engineering including electrical and mechanical, signalling and communications training.
Individuals on the apprenticeship programme will spend their first year on block release within the college’s Team Valley campus as well as receiving training in the workplace.
This will lead to them achieving an NVQ Level 2 Performing Engineering Operations and BTEC Level 3 Diploma in Electrical/Electronic Engineering. They will also gain English, Maths and IT skills at Level 2. Apprentices then work towards an HNC in electrical engineering on a full time programme of just under six months.
Click here to apply for the Nexus apprenticeship scheme.