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Thales apprenticeship programme to train the next generation of rail engineers

Taking a break from learning about the latest rail engineering technology developments, our ground transportation apprentices had to opportunity to meet with Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London at a Skills London event last year.

The Mayor was impressed as our apprentices talked about the skills they had learnt to work on signalling and communications installations testing, commissioning and on-going maintenance services. He even got a demonstration of an apprentice-led project featuring robot cars using the skills they had learnt during their first two months of the apprenticeship. First year apprentice Leon Sealy was one of the young engineers who met Boris.

Leon, could you tell us what attracted you to this particular apprentice scheme?

From a very young age, I had an interest in everything mechanical. I was keen to work in engineering and knew there was a growing demand in the rail industry for rail engineers. Thales has a good reputation for helping their apprentices gain a professional qualification. What attracted me to this particular scheme was the chance to work on challenging but rewarding projects which would extend my knowledge and progress my career.

What sort of things to do you get to do on the scheme?

In the first year, you are at college full time and five days of the week are learning the basic skills like engineering maths, electrical installation and all things relevant to the rail industry. You are fully employed from day one and supported to do a three to four year rail engineering apprenticeship together with a BTEC in Electrical Engineering.

Would you recommend this to other young, aspiring engineers like yourself?

Definitely, for one you don’t have to apply for a loan to go to college! An apprenticeship offers you practical alternative to university and a fast route into a career with good prospects. There is a huge waiting list for rail engineers and this apprenticeship will help me get into the industry and hopefully allow me to become a Project Manager one day.

Thales is one of the world leader’s in providing signalling solutions and integrated transportation systems and services in mainline rail and urban transport. In the UK, Thales’s presence on the London Underground is huge – maintaining the radio communications networks and upgrading the Northern and Jubilee Line signalling systems.

Our strong presence in this field along with a high demand for talented young people in the rail industry makes the Thales apprentice scheme, run in partnership with Prospects College, a highly attractive programme for the next generation of skilled engineers to choose as a route in which develop their career.