Alstom has opened its Apprentice Training Academy in the UK following a GBP 250,000 (EUR 280,000) investment over the last two years.
The new Training Academy was officially opened in Derby by Dame Margaret Beckett, Member of Parliament for Derby South, accompanied by Nick Crossfield, Managing Director of Alstom UK & Ireland.
The inauguration took place during the National Apprenticeship Week 2023, which is focused on ‘Skills for Life’ theme.
“It’s a real pleasure to open Alstom’s new National Training Centre during National Apprenticeship Week. I am delighted to see Alstom continuing to invest in Derby’s young people, and in the Litchurch Lane facility, the only factory in Britain with the capability to design, build and test new trains for the UK and for export,” Dame Margaret said at the inauguration.
Alstom says it is committed to helping its apprentices to develop the skills and knowledge required for a rewarding career in the rail industry and help to develop a talented workforce that is equipped with skills for the future.
120 new apprentices and graduates will join Alstom this year. Depending on career stream, each apprentice will spend an initial three weeks in the Academy learning the initial skills and competencies they need to perform their role, including a strong focus on safety and quality before they join their respective teams. They will spend 30 to 40 hours a month attending the Academy throughout their apprenticeship. All courses are structured to complement each apprentice’s college or university course which they will also attend throughout their apprenticeship. Alstom works closely with Derby College as well as Derby, Nottingham and Sheffield Universities.
Alstom apprenticeships are open to applicants of any age looking for a fulfilling career with social purpose. Applications for the latest batch of level 3 apprenticeships remain open until 31st March 2023.
All levels of apprentices and graduates now enter their new traineeship with Alstom through the Training Academy, no matter which of the 30 Alstom locations around the UK they will eventually work at.
In their first week, the new trainees are taught the company’s values as a leader in smart and sustainable mobility, including the Alstom Zero Deviation Plan, the Alstom Production System (APSYS), ethics and diversity standards, quality awareness and personal safety to ensure each new employee goes home safely every day.
“Alstom has always believed in developing talent through formalised training, as we see apprentices are the future of our industry both here in Britain and around the world. National Apprenticeship Week is the perfect time for us to open our Academy as we wanted to express our confidence in the future of the UK apprenticeships and the UK rail industry,” Nick Crossfield said.
Alstom’s Derby site has been at the heart of British railway manufacturing for 175 years since it was originally established, with generations of train makers trained on site to manufacture the most technological advanced trains for Britain’s rail passengers for nearly two centuries. Today, Derby is the UK’s only end-to-end train manufacturing site, and makes trains both for the UK and export market.
The new Apprentice Training Academy, featuring 17 permanent teaching staff, is an innovation that increases the professionalisation of Alstom’s training offer in the UK.
The academy is in a central location on Alstom’s Derby site and offers 1,600m2 of practical learning space comprising four classrooms, a canteen, coffee area, and break out study areas where the new trainees are inducted at Alstom. It also features a training hall containing a carriage and cab from the AVENTRA programme, the UK’s largest train manufacturing programme in a generation currently on the lines at Derby, where apprentices can gain practical experience working on carriages before joining a live manufacturing team.
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