Nexus, which owns and manages the Tyne and Wear Metro, has embarked on a third consecutive year of apprentice recruitment for its rail engineering section.
A total of ten apprentices are being sought to join the Nexus Apprenticeship Scheme in the autumn of 2015. Nexus expanded the scheme in 2013 with the aim of taking on ten apprentices a year, over a three year period.
Applications for this year’s intake opened on Friday 2 January and will remain open until the end of March.
The apprenticeship programme, designed and delivered in partnership with Gateshead College, offers an ideal opportunity to start a career in rail engineering.
The successful applicants 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.
The competition for places is expected to be fierce. 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.
Director of Rail and Infrastructure for Nexus, Raymond Johnstone, said: “Nexus has worked closely with Gateshead College to develop an expanded and hugely successful apprenticeship scheme. This is third year running that we have started recruiting trainee engineers.
“The scheme delivers an excellent standard of vocational training. The successful applicants will be on first rung of the ladder of an exciting career in the railway industry.
"This recruitment process is also vital in lowering the average age of our workforce and to ensure we have people with the right skills coming through to keep the Metro system running for many years to come.”
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.
Paul Gough, Director of Business Development at Gateshead College, said: “We are looking forward to delivering another successful apprenticeships programme with our partner Nexus.
“It’s great to see a major North East employer investing in apprenticeships. They are a highly beneficial way for a business to retain skills and talent and secure the future development of the workforce.
“The commitment to a long term programme like this provides a strong foundation for individuals to flourish and develop. Apprenticeships are a fantastic way to build a career by gaining skills and training while earning a wage.
“The college is committed to apprenticeships and this is another great example of how we partner closely with North East employers to deliver the qualifications and training they want.”
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.
Application forms the Nexus apprentice scheme are available online now by clicking here.
Forms and supporting information can also be downloaded at the bottom of this page.