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At the heart of the rail network are our teams running the day to day operations. From signallers in our regional Rail Operating Centres to lone signal boxes. From incident response teams that help reopen any part of the network that’s blocked, to level crossing managers and station customer service teams. Our wide-ranging service manages all the systems and processes that keeps the rail-network running safely.

Operations is a varied discipline, covering stations, signalling, control, incident response, electrical control, planning and freight. Our operations apprenticeship has been developed to teach apprentices about the whole rail system and how different roles work together to ensure a safe service. This apprenticeship offers a great starting point for your career in rail operations.

Our 18-month programme gives you practical hands on experience and strong foundations of industry knowledge. Your training and learning experiences will cover all areas of operations including stations, signalling, control, incident response, electrical control, planning, and maintenance. You’ll also have a placement with a Train Operating Company to get another perspective of our rail network.

And all your training will prepare you for your assessment where you’ll become a member of the Institution of Railway Operators and become a qualified signaller and in addition this you will receive Mobile Operations Manager appreciation.

As well as gaining a signaller qualification, your different experiences on the scheme opens up opportunities across our business.

You can look forward to a rewarding and fulfilling career with a company that recently joined the top 50 in the Glassdoor's 2021 Best Places to Work.

Your training programme

At the heart of the rail network are our teams running the day-to-day operations.

Our wide-ranging service manages all the systems and processes that keep the rail network running safely. It includes: signallers in our regional Rail Operating Centres or lone signal boxes; incident response teams that help reopen any part of the network that’s blocked; level crossing managers and station customer service teams.

We’ve developed our operations apprenticeship to teach apprentices about the whole rail system and how different roles work together to ensure a safe service. It offers a great starting point for your career in rail operations. Our 18-month programme gives you practical hands-on experience and strong foundations of industry knowledge.

Your training and learning experiences will cover all areas of operations. They’ll include: stations, signalling, control, incident response, electrical control, planning and maintenance. You’ll also have a placement with a train operating company to get another perspective of our railway.

And all your training will prepare you for your assessment where you’ll become a member of the Institution of Railway Operators and a qualified signaller. What’s more, you will receive mobile operations manager appreciation and varied experiences will open up opportunities across our business.

Please note that it is a requirement of the apprenticeship to travel to training and placements. This may require you to stay in a hotel or similar for the working week. Signalling training dates will be confirmed at the start of the apprenticeship. Aside from this, the Operations Apprenticeship requires a level of flexibility from candidates as we plan placements within the live business environment. Placements may be subject to some change as a result of operational considerations.

Your learning journey

Initial signalling training

Initial signalling training consists of 3 blocks of 4 weeks of mandatory training.

The training will be delivered from York Training Centre.

Initial signalling training dates will be confirmed at the start of the apprenticeship.

Minimum entry criteria - You’ll need a minimum of five GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (inclusive of English Language and Maths)

To apply for our apprenticeship, you'll need to show off your skills in these areas:

• Communication – A variety of clear written and spoken communication skills are essential. You will be required to deliver safety critical communications.
• Ability to learn – Due to its safety critical nature, there is a lot to learn to become a proficient Signaller.
• Problem solving - You'll be a natural problem solver, curious and comfortable asking questions.
• Decision Making - Working in operations you'll be dealing with different situations each day. Your decision-making skills will make all the difference.
• Working Under Pressure – Due to the intense and challenging events that can occur on the railway, it is essential you are able to remain calm.
• Ability to work as part of a team – Team working is one of our Network Rail values and will play a key part in your apprenticeship.
• Ability to work alone – We're all about collaboration but parts of your apprenticeship will involve lone working from time to time. We'll give you all the support you need but you should be comfortable with some lone working.

What should you expect and how can you prepare?

• Application – completed on our careers portal, you'll need an up to date CV. Remember to show off the skills we've listed above
• Application questions – completed online, you'll need 20 minutes in a safe, quiet location where you’re comfortable to complete a situational judgement test and answer questions about your interest and understanding of the apprenticeship programme
• Psychometric testing - if you pass our application questions, you'll be invited to complete some online testing which measure important abilities and aptitudes related to the Signaller role and helps us make a more informed decision about your suitability
• Virtual assessment – you'll take part in an online assessment which will include a video interview to talk through your skills and experiences in more detail.
• Offer – our careers team will give you a call to discuss further details including your medical declaration.
• Pre-employment checks – we'll need you to provide some documents to prove your identity and right to work in the UK
• Induction – you'll receive more information about your apprenticeship programme

In order for your application to proceed to interview stage, you'll need to achieve a passing score on the application screening questions, as well as meeting the minimum pass benchmarks in our psychometric testing

You’ll also need to be within a 60 minute commute of the location you’re applying to work at.

Medicals

If we offer you a place on the apprenticeship scheme, one of the conditions will be that you attend a medical. This is because you’ll work in safety critical environments and it’s important we understand if there’s anything additional about you to keep you safe. The medical includes hearing and vision checks, and we need to know about any existing medical conditions or medication you’re taking. There are also tests for drugs and alcohol.

We’re an organisation where people matter. We matter to millions.

The railway brings together families and friends. We connect people, businesses and communities all across our nation. We're a team of over 39,000 people with over 4,000 different types of jobs, all working together to deliver for our passengers.

We matter to millions, and a career at Network Rail is your chance to do meaningful work every single day.

Everyone matters is our diversity strategy. By 2024 we will be an even more open, diverse and inclusive organisation that is better at reflecting the communities that we serve. By putting our passengers first, our strategy will help us to provide a more accessible and more inclusive experience for you.

Our Operations level 3 Apprenticeship is your opportunity to learn on the job whilst studying for a professional qualification. Start your career with us and do meaningful work every single day at Network Rail.

We have positions available in the following locations:

Tyneside IECC - 2 (NE8 2TD)
Doncaster PSB - 2 (DN1 1PE)
York ROC - 4 (YO26 4ZD)

Salary: £29,364 per annum

Start date: 23/10/23

You must be aged 18 or older on or before 23/10/23. This is to make sure we follow health & safety requirements and regulations around shift patterns and working at night for under-18s. There is no upper age limit for the programme.

Note on closing date - Apprenticeships often receive high numbers of applications and we may close the vacancy early when we have reached a maximum number of applications. Please do submit your application as early as possible.

Click ‘apply’ to submit your application.