You’re Hired! - Go-Ahead hits apprentice goal for 2019
- Go-Ahead reaches target of 1,000 apprentices in 2019 two months early
- Go Ahead is the only public transport operator that delivers apprenticeships in bus and rail in-house
- One in three apprentices in London are 40 or older
13 November – More than 1,000 people are on track for a bright career after Go Ahead hit its 2019 apprentice target eight weeks ahead of schedule.
Go-Ahead is the only public transport operator registered as an approved provider delivering apprenticeships across both bus and rail. It set a goal of reaching 1,000 apprenticeships at the start of this year and reached this milestone at the start of November 2019.
This means it has doubled the number of apprentices across the organisation. It is also bucking an emerging trend in the UK, where apprenticeship starts have fallen since the introduction of the Apprenticeship Levy[1].
The new recruits reflect best practice for companies to champion diversity by finding the best talent from all walks of life.
One in three apprentices at bus company Go-Ahead London are aged 40 or older and 43% of apprentices at rail company Southeastern are over 36 years old. Of nearly 300 apprentices at Go-Ahead London, two-thirds come from a BAME background.
The age range of Go-Ahead’s apprentices stretches from 16 to 75.
David Brown, Go-Ahead chief executive, said: “Not only have we reached our apprentice target - we’ve exceeded it. Investing in apprenticeship programmes is important for developing colleagues’ skills and potential.”
Several senior managers and directors across Go-Ahead started their careers as apprentices. Go North East engineering director Colin Barnes was recruited as an apprentice in 1992 while Go-Ahead London managing director John Trayner also joined as an apprentice in 1975.
Southeastern train driver Jane Woolterton, one of Go-Ahead’s 2018 intake, recently became the first person in the country to complete the Level 3 Train Driving apprenticeship[2]. Currently 16% of apprentices in Southeastern are female.
Training typically takes between 12 and 36 months, and apprenticeships are available across driving, customer service, business administration, mechanical and engineering and technical roles. Apprentices who do not have qualifications will study towards gaining their maths and English functional skills.
ENDS