Northern Rail Backs Apprenticeships
13 Nov 2008
Northern Rail Backs ApprenticeshipsNorthern Rail’s Newton Heath Train Maintenance Depot has taken on new apprentices in a bid to improve the rail industry’s skills base. Andrew Lord (19) and Jordan Mearman (16), are two of five engineering apprentices to be taken on by Northern and the first to be taken on at Newton Heath Depot for over nine years. They met the Lord Mayor of Manchester, Councillor Mavis Smithman when she visited the depot. The apprenticeship combines a programme of education with a work-based placement, providing them with the opportunity to gain vocational qualifications and valuable work experience at the same time. Says Steve Gordon, senior technical trainer at Newton Heath, ‘The new apprentice scheme is great news for the future of the depot.’ Northern Rail’s other depots, Neville Hill in Leeds and Heaton in Newcastle have also taken on engineering apprentices. The Lord Mayor said, ‘The apprentice scheme at Newton Heath sends an important message to the community about investing and nurturing the talents of the city and I wish them both the very best in the future.’