Ahead Partnership | Max discovers technical routes to employment with Transpennine Express

Home • Max discovers technical routes to employment with Transpennine Express

Max is a high school student in Calderdale

I was already interested in the idea of doing an apprenticeship but hadn’t heard a lot of information about specific courses and options in my area.

The video resources were shared by our Careers Leader for us to watch at home during the lockdown period and they really spoke to me.

I’ve had passion for the railways for a long time and after watching this apprenticeship video I felt as though the Transpennine Express option was going to be very suited to me.

I watched the video a couple of times and it was great to gain some first-hand information from people around my age who are actually doing the apprenticeship. They were very detailed and honest about what doing an apprenticeship is like, why they enjoy it and the skills you need to do one. They also shared detail about the qualifications you gain while you’re in paid employment.

The video was an excellent resource to be able to gain some more knowledge and to actually know what work the apprenticeship includes and the benefits of studying an apprenticeship with Transpennine Express. I thought it was really relevant to the subjects that I study currently at school and it definitely sparked my interest.

We thought this would be a great opportunity to reach out to people from a variety of locations who may not have thought of a railway career as an option. Loren and Lewis are two super-focused young people who know that TPE is a great place to work with many opportunities. They jumped at the chance to ‘share’ and help other young people be open to a career they may never have otherwise considered.

Volunteer, Transpennine Express

The video gave me a lot more willpower to try and push and get to the Transpennine Express apprenticeship and I went to my Careers Leader for more information. They were able to put me in touch with Ahead Partnership and Transpennine Express to get more specific information and answers to my own questions about preparing for and applying for their apprenticeships.

My future career ambition is to be a train driver and I think that this apprenticeship programme will help me advance up the career ladder and try to get to my childhood dream.

Watching the video resources made by Transpennine Express with Ahead Partnership was a great experience and has really helped me focus my ambitions in the right direction. If someone my age is given the chance to watch these resources my immediate answer would be “say yes!” as it’s an opportunity I’m really glad I had.