Train operators target college leavers with recruitment message on A-level results day

Between them, TransPennine Express, c2c, LNER, Northern, South Western Railway and Southeastern offer hundreds of apprenticeships across the country every year in roles such as drivers, conductors and engineers as well as a number of support functions.   

Highlighting the benefits, they say rail industry apprenticeships offer:

• The opportunity to earn while you learn, with competitive salaries from day one
• The chance to develop transferable workplace skills alongside those that are role specific
• A gateway into an industry with real career progression opportunities
• The chance to serve their community as the government’s public ownership programme continues apace.

Chris Jackson, managing director of TransPennine Express, said: "The rail industry offers more than just a job - it provides careers with real opportunity for progression. 

"Apprenticeships are a great way to get a ‘foot in the door’ and what better time to join the industry than now as we continue the journey towards Great British Railways.

“Whether you're interested in driving trains or working in one of the specialist support functions - there’s a place for everyone in rail."

In May, the government announced plans to lower the minimum age requirement to be a train driver in Great Britain from 20 to 18.

The move is designed to bring numerous benefits to the rail sector and for young people, including:

• enabling the rail industry to continue to support economic growth by creating a sustainable pipeline of future train drivers
• empowering young people by creating new career pathways, jobs and apprenticeship opportunities for school leavers with a clear pathway to full time employment
• improving the industry’s capabilities to recruit young people and capacity to select from a wider pool of applicants
• bringing new talent, skills and fresh perspectives into the sector
• contributing to a more diverse, representative and inclusive workforce
• tackling the ageing profile of train drivers

The Department for Transport asked train operators and other rail industry bodies to develop a cross-industry plan to support the change and the rule is expected to come into force later in 2025.

Train operators say it is also important to make young people aware that not all careers in the rail industry are in operational roles. They are also seeking to attract people interested in working in support services such as IT, environment and commercial. 

Earlier this year, an apprentice at TransPennine Express, Lucy Lightbown, was named ‘Female Apprentice of the Year’ at the Women in Rail Awards for her work in their sustainability team.

Among the other publicly owned train operators:

• c2c say they are making progress in diversifying the historically male-dominated nature of their workforce, with females accounting for 33% of their current apprentice train drivers
• Southeastern has opened a new careers and skills hub for apprentices in Ashford in Kent and follows their inclusion in The Sunday Times ‘Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers’ list for 2025
• Northern says they are set to recruit 100 new apprentices (43 drivers and 57 conductors) for their bases across the North of England before the end of the year
• And in 2021, South Western Railway became the first train operator in the country to be awarded Investors in People’s (IIP) ‘We invest in apprentices’ accreditation.

For more information about apprenticeships and other career opportunities at the six publicly owned train operators, visit:

TransPennine Express: tpexpress.co.uk/about-us/apprenticeships
c2c: c2c-online.co.uk/careers-at-c2c
LNER: lnerjobs.co.uk/jobs/apprenticeships
Northern: northernrailway.co.uk/careers/early-careers/apprenticeships
Southeastern: southeasternrailway.co.uk/about-us/company/careers-at-southeastern/roles/apprenticeships
South Western Railway: southwesternrailway.com/other/about-us/our-plan/apprenticeship-scheme