HomeCompany NewsSelby College to be training partner for Siemens Mobility’s new Goole factory

Selby College to be training partner for Siemens Mobility’s new Goole factory

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Selby College will be the training partner for the new factory that Siemens Mobility is setting up in Goole, East Riding of Yorkshire. The company has already received some 200 applications for the facility’s first 12 apprentice roles.

Around 40 shortlisted candidates will participate in one of two assessment days in early June. Due to current social distancing guidance, plans are being drawn up for the candidates to participate remotely if required, including in virtual group activities.

The successful candidates will spend their first year full time at Selby College, developing core skills in mechanical and electrical engineering. In their second year, they will spend one day a week at the college and four days on placement at Siemens Mobility facilities, building up their practical capabilities and experience.

In addition, the recruits will spend a four-week training block at the National Training Academy for Rail (NTAR) in Northampton to further the apprentices’ knowledge and understanding of the rail industry. Their third year will be split between a six-month placement at Siemens Mobility’s metros centre of excellence in Vienna, Austria and joining the first intake of employees at the new Goole facility.

These apprentices will be the first of up to 700 employees for the pioneering rail manufacturing facility. They will spend their first year at Selby College, developing core engineering skills, as part of a comprehensive, three-year training programme, beginning in September 2020 through to joining the workforce at the Goole factory when it opens in 2023. The majority of applicants for the Level 3 Rail Technician Apprenticeship positions are from East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.

Selby College is a high-achieving college with an excellent reputation and is just 10 miles from the Goole site. The college has been selected due to its outstanding track record of delivering apprenticeships, excellent facilities, focus on student welfare and health and safety, and proximity to the development site.

Sambit Banerjee, Siemens Mobility’s managing director rolling stock and customer services, said: “The appointment of Selby College is another important milestone for our Goole facility and will have a key role to play in helping us create a legacy of highly-skilled engineers.

“The number and quality of applications indicates the level of interest in this incredibly exciting project. The demand for these entry-level opportunities bodes well for future recruitment for a wide range of manufacturing, engineering and associated roles as the project continues to move forward.”

Construction of the £200 million Goole manufacturing facility, which will create up to 700 skilled jobs as well as 250 in the construction phase, is expected to start later this year, pending detailed planning approval from East Riding of Yorkshire Council. It will be complemented by research and development, digital innovation and supplier facilities, together forming a unique “rail village” at the Goole site.

A key catalyst for the development was a £1.5bn contract with London Underground Limited, a subsidiary of Transport for London (TfL), to build a new generation of tube trains for the Piccadilly line.

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