Siemens Mobility welcomes bumper intake of young talent

RECRUITS: The 24 young people taken on in apprenticeship and graduate roles at Siemens Mobility’s Goole rail village

By Rick Lyon, Co-Editor

Siemens Mobility has taken on 24 young people in apprenticeships and graduate roles at its rail village in Goole.

The recruitment includes 22 apprentices, and comes as the development in East Yorkshire, from where the company is assembling new Piccadilly line trains, gears up to becoming fully operational.

The trainees are aged between 16 and 26 and all started on the same day, across a variety of roles in the manufacturing, logistics and warehousing, quality, commissioning, components, materials control, operations and commercial teams.

Mark Speed, general manager of Siemens Mobility at Goole, said: “We’re excited to welcome all these new recruits to our growing team in Goole.

“Bringing on board so many talented young people demonstrates our commitment to creating new opportunities to join the UK rail industry and help to shape its future.

TALENT: The new recruits, who all started on the same day

“These new team members represent a major investment in creating a powerful pipeline of talent and a lasting legacy of skills for our business and the wider industry. The numbers taken on also reflect the scale of our operations in Goole and the range of functions within the rail village.

“We’re looking forward to seeing our new colleagues grow and develop in their roles and contribute to the success of our operations in Goole as we transform rail travel and transport.”

Siemens Mobility is investing £200m to develop a train manufacturing facility and associated operations in Goole, creating up to 700 jobs directly as well as around 1,700 opportunities in the wider supply chain.

The first trains built at the new factory will be new tube trains for Transport for London, with 80 per cent of new trains for the Piccadilly line on the London Underground to be assembled at Goole.

Siemens Mobility plans to build all future main line trains for the UK at Goole, including new battery bi-mode trains that it has calculated could save Britain’s railways £3.5bn and 12 million tonnes of CO2 over 35 years.

WELCOME: Liv Ross

The factory is the centrepiece of the wider rail village, featuring a components facility, a materials and logistics warehouse, and a research, development and innovation cluster.

The new starters will develop their skills through a wide range of training programmes, relevant to their specific roles. Many of these programmes are overseen by the National Training Academy for Rail (NTAR), working with regional training providers, including York College.

The new recruits include Liv Ross, 16, from Rawcliffe Bridge, near Goole, who is undertaking a Level 3 mechanical fitter apprenticeship after completing GCSEs in engineering and computer science.

She said: “Engineering is still very male dominated, but I had a female engineering teacher at school who really inspired me to pursue a career in this field.

“I didn’t like the idea of going to college and sitting in a classroom all day. Getting hands-on experience through an apprenticeship was much more appealing to me.

‘FEELS AMAZING’: Tristan Masterman

“It already feels like I’m part of a great community. Everyone has made me feel welcome and we’re all here to help each other.”

Tristan Masterman, 18, from Selby, near Goole, is starting a Level 4 manufacturing fitter apprenticeship after completing his Level 3 Diploma in engineering at college.

He said: “I knew I wanted to pursue a career in engineering and, after researching university courses and attending a number of open days, I realised I wouldn’t get the valuable hands-on experience I wanted at uni.

“I decided that doing an apprenticeship would be the best route for me, as I could learn on the job from professionals who are already working in the industry, while getting paid at the same time.

“It feels amazing to be part of such an important project, building trains for the London Underground, which will provide a vital service to the public. I’ve always wanted to do a job where I make a positive impact and I already know I’ll be able to do that in this role.”