A TOTAL of 17 new members have staff have joined a train company that operates through York.

In all 14 new apprentices and three graduates have joined the TransPennine Express team.

Based across the north of the country, the new apprentices have begun a two-year scheme where they will “earn while they learn” and gain the skills and knowledge required to pursue a career in the rail sector.

They will take up a range of positions across the business, including Major Projects, Service Planning and Human Resources whilst studying for a professional qualification, which will be delivered by The Manchester College. The apprentices will also work towards a Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award.

Alongside the apprentices, three Rail Operative Graduates, Alicja Zdobylak, Hugh Thomas and Sam Gillespie also joined TransPennine Express.

Alicja said: “I am looking forward to getting stuck in and providing value to our customers. I studied Air Transport and Logistic Management at Huddersfield and I cannot wait to put my studies into practise with TPE.”

Nicola Buckley, Head of Human Resources at TPE said: “I’m delighted that we are able to provide this fantastic opportunity to a new cohort of apprentices at TPE. It was a real pleasure to welcome them as they begin their two-year scheme. The apprenticeship programme at TPE will see these inspiring young people supporting us and gaining work experience across every area of the business and will also support their personal growth through the achievement of the Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award scheme. The railway is a great place to work, and we are very fortunate to be able to be actively recruit new talent to support our growing business, particularly following the challenges that we have all faced throughout the pandemic. We are also pleased to welcome three new colleagues into our two-year Graduate scheme. The graduates will have the opportunity to get involved and influence key business activity at a very exciting and critical point in our history as we drive forward with the delivery of the TransPennine Route Upgrade programme.”