First four apprentices join East Midlands Trains

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East Midlands Trains is committed to tackling the railway industry’s predicted skills shortage, the company announced at the unveiling of its first four engineering apprentices.

The Derby-based train operator has recruited four young people to work at its maintenance depots in Etches Park, Derby, and Eastcroft in Nottingham to complete mechanical and electrical engineering qualifications as part of their apprenticeship.

The new apprentices, Matthew Taylor, 18, from Mickleover, Jamie Spooner, 16, from Alvaston, Callum Howling, 16, and Joshua Brear, 17, who are both from Long Eaton, applied for the apprenticeship through the national apprenticeship service website.

Former Long Eaton School pupil Joshua Brear is the third generation of his family to work in the railways. He said: “I had wanted to follow in my family’s footsteps and work on the railway and I was really pleased to be accepted for the apprenticeship scheme.

“The railways are in my family blood and they are all really proud of me. I had considered going to university but didn’t want to be saddled with loads of debt.  The opportunity to earn whilst training is brilliant.”

Tim Sayer, engineering director for East Midlands Trains, said: “These four apprentices are the first to be recruited by East Midlands Trains and we are really pleased to be welcoming them into our business.

“Derby has a long and proud heritage of railway engineering and we recognised the need to invest in the future of the maintenance side of the business – ensuring that we have the skills in place to continue our excellent track record in vehicle safety and reliability.

“The apprenticeship programme is a tried and test route to recruit and train young people and we are pleased to be working with Derby College to introduce this scheme into our business.”

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