TWELVE apprentices selected from more than 200 applicants have embarked on a three-year engineering training programme with Siemens Mobility.

Selby College, the training partner for Siemens Mobility's planned rail facility in Goole, has welcomed its first cohort of apprentices who are the first of up to 700 employees who will work at the rail centre 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 on placement at Siemens Mobility traincare facilities, building 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.

When complete, the Goole factory will manufacture and commission trains, including 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.

Welcoming the apprentices, Phil Sayles, principal and chief executive of Selby College, said: “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, said it was another major milestone for the Goole site and their 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.”