London North Eastern Railway (LNER) marked National Apprenticeship Week 2023 by celebrating the contribution of more than 150 apprentices who currently work across the business.
LNER also launched a special video to spotlight the vital role apprenticeships play in supporting the development of existing employees and attracting fresh talent into the rail industry.
LNER offers a wide range of apprenticeships from train driving and engineering to HR, Finance and Customer Experience. The company was awarded UK Top Employer status earlier this year for a fourth consecutive year.
Claire Ansley, People and Customer Experience Director at LNER, said: “At LNER we are delighted to support apprentices across the business to gain new skills, as well as a recognised qualification. An ideal apprentice is someone who is passionate about development and learning new skills with a huge variety of roles available in the railway industry.”
Train Manager, Rahnum Ishtiaq has recently completed his apprenticeship and is now working onboard services between London and Newcastle, Leeds and Lincoln. He said: “The apprenticeship with LNER has given me the opportunity to do the job that I really wanted to do and was passionate about securing. I had the opportunity to shadow someone who was experienced and to learn from them, one-to-one about how to provide our customers with the best possible experience. Showing empathy, showing you care and listening are all key skills, as well as learning to deal with incidents by yourself. Learning from experienced colleagues has really helped enhance those skills in addition to our formal training.”
Megan Cooke used to work in hearing care before becoming an Apprentice Train Driver at LNER. Speaking ahead of National Apprenticeship Week, Megan said: “By the time I get through the apprenticeship training, I will have every tool needed to be an LNER Azuma train driver. I know that when I’m given my key to the cab and told to go out there by myself for the first time, that I will have earned it.”
The celebratory video can be viewed at https://youtu.be/66j_yGTdzz0
Image credit: LNER
