Selby College, Siemens Mobility Limited’s training partner for its planned rail facility in Goole, East Riding of Yorkshire, has welcomed its first cohort of apprentices. The 12 apprentices are the first of up to 700 employees who will work at the pioneering rail facility when it opens in 2023.

The new starters are undertaking a Level 3 Rail Technician Apprenticeship programme, spending their first year at the college developing core engineering knowledge and competencies. In their second year, they will spend one day a week at college and four days a week on placement at Siemens Mobility traincare facilities, building up their practical skills and experience.

Their third year will be split between working full-time at the Goole facility and a six-month placement at the company’s rolling stock factory in Vienna, Austria. This will enable expert knowledge transfer from colleagues in a well-established, global manufacturing operation.

The 12 apprentices were selected by Siemens Mobility after receiving over 200 applications, with the majority of applicants from East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. They join Selby College two months after construction work began at the nearby Goole site in July 2020, following a visit from Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

When complete, the state-of-the-art factory will manufacture and commission trains – the first of which will be new Tube trains for London’s Piccadilly line with plans for additional train manufacture in the future. This could include additional vehicles for the Bakerloo, Central and Waterloo & City line Tube trains, plus mainline suburban and intercity trains.

Siemens Mobility’s Goole plant will be complemented by research and development, digital innovation and supplier facilities, together forming a unique “rail village”.

Phil Sayles, Principal and Chief Executive of Selby College, said: “We were delighted to welcome Siemens Mobility’s first 12 apprentices to Selby College. This is a fantastic opportunity for them to be a part of an incredibly exciting project and develop the engineering skills which are so vital to the UK’s future.

“Our significant engineering facilities and partnerships with industry mean that we offer unparalleled training opportunities for apprentices in the sector, and we hope our new joiners gain maximum experience and knowledge from the programme during their time with us.”

Sambit Banerjee, Managing Director, Siemens Mobility Limited, said: “The onboarding of our first apprentices at Selby College represents another major milestone for our Goole facility and our plans to create and develop local jobs. With an outstanding track record of delivering apprenticeships and excellent facilities, Selby College is a brilliant place for these ambitious people to train and grow their skillset in engineering.

“The government has a clear commitment to ‘levelling up” and rebuilding the nation’s economy following COVID-19 and employing and training local people is key to this. As supporters of this ambition, we are committed to upskilling the next generation of engineering talent, so they can play a key role in delivering important UK infrastructure projects, like TfL’s new underground trains.”