NSAR has been employing apprentices for other employers for two years now. Initially, we expected this service to be of use to small to medium businesses worried about their ability to properly support an apprentice, or concerned that they couldn’t quite offer the full range of work needed to cover the apprenticeship standard, or even worried that there was not enough work on the order book to see the apprenticeship through to the end for the apprentice. We have been able to support businesses with one or more of these concerns. However, the main demand for this service has come from a more innovative use of the FJAA.
We are about to launch our third excursion into shared apprenticeships, using the FJAA to help employers collaborate, share apprentices, and rotate them across their businesses. By rotating apprentices, participants gain valuable insight into how different businesses work, sometimes in different parts of the rail sector, like infrastructure maintenance, civil engineering, asset management, train operations, or freight and passenger services etc. By the end of the programme, apprentices have a well-rounded set of experiences across different businesses and a better sense of which part of the rail sector they are particularly interested in working in as a career.
Our first two rotational cohorts of apprentices (15 apprentices in each) are on the assistant project management apprenticeship standard (Level 4), and we are working in partnership with Gateshead College (as the training provider) and with the TransPennine Route Upgrade (TRU) asset owners and supply chain. This programme is in direct response to the need for more project management skills in the Eastern Region of the rail network and involves employers such as Amco Giffen, Amey, VolkerRail, TransPennine Express, Morgan Sindall, Balfour Beatty, and Network Rail.
Pictured: The 2nd cohort of PlanBEE Rail apprentices undergo PPE training (credits to NSAR)
Our second excursion into shared apprenticeships, using our FJAA service, is directly aimed at addressing the need for data science and AI skills in rail as we work to modernise The Railway. The apprenticeship standards at the centre of this programme are the Level 6 Machine Learning and Data Science apprenticeships. NSAR is working in partnership with GBRX.
GBRX is the new strategic innovation body for Britain’s railway and is working to advance the adoption of innovative technology across track and train, improving how the railway works for people and developing the skills for a more sustainable future. LNER, Porterbrook, One Big Circle, and GBRX will host apprentices employed by NSAR, as part of this programme.
Again, as the apprentices’ employer, NSAR can rotate apprentices across participating employers, allowing them to gain far more experience across a range of employers working in different parts of the rail sector than they ever would just working with a single employer.
If you are interested in participating in a shared apprenticeship scheme or would like to talk to us about establishing one, please get in touch.