Goole Rail Village: Meet the apprentices on track for a career at Goole Rail Village
If Goole is not already the rail capital of the UK, then it soon will be if these young professionals have anything to do with it.
Siemens Mobility currently supports 173 apprentices across more than 20 UK and Ireland locations, covering diverse roles in engineering, manufacturing, and operations Siemens Mobility's apprenticeship programme welcomed 25 new individuals across the UK and Ireland.
This latest intake contributes to the 175 apprentices currently on programme, building on the 150 who are already enrolled on different apprenticeship programmes.
This commitment to developing talent is particularly well-demonstrated at the Goole Rail Village, where 35 of these individuals are situated, and apprentices are engaged in assembling Piccadilly line trains for Transport for London, thereby directly supporting Siemens Mobility’s investment in UK rail industry skills.
Mark Speed, General Manager at Siemens Mobility’s Goole Rail Village, said: “We’re committed to creating a powerful pipeline of talent and a lasting legacy of skills for our business and the wider industry.
"That’s why we have brought on board apprentices from the early days of the Goole project and continue to do so.
"This latest intake at Goole further contributes to our ongoing investment in developing young talent to help shape the future of the UK rail industry.
"Apprentices in our earlier cohorts are already making a significant impact in their teams, here at Goole and elsewhere in the business, and it’s fantastic to see their development and progress since joining us.
"We’re excited to support our newest recruits as they begin their journey, and we can’t wait to see what they all go on to achieve.”
Some 80 per cent of these trains will be assembled in Goole, where Siemens also intends to assemble future battery bi-mode train orders for the UK.
Goole Rail Village represents investment of up to £240m, creating up to 1,000 new jobs in the East Riding of Yorkshire, along with around 1,700 supply chain job opportunities.
Level 3 Apprentice Mechanical Fitter Rhys Penistone, 17, following his father into Siemens Mobility, said: “I’ve always learned best by getting hands on and doing practical work, so I think an apprenticeship offers a good balance.
"I’ve been interested in mechanics from a young age and grew up helping Dad to fix things such as motorbikes and go carts, so I knew I wanted to pursue a career in this area. Dad spoke really highly of Siemens Mobility so I knew it was a good company to work for.”
Level 3 Engineering Fitter Apprentice Maisie Eastwood, 16, from Goole, said: “The main thing that attracted me to Siemens was the opportunity to work on London Underground trains.
"The idea of helping to build something which thousands of people will benefit from every day is so exciting. Being from Goole, it’s amazing to now have Siemens on my doorstep.”
Siemens Mobility took on board the first cohort of apprentices in Goole in 2020 during the early stages of the Rail Village development.
The majority of the first intake of 12 apprentices have progressed onto permanent roles within the business and are forging exciting careers with Siemens Mobility, at Goole and other locations.