{"id":367109,"date":"2026-02-12T19:15:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T09:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/railuk.com\/?p=189128"},"modified":"2026-02-12T19:15:00","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T09:15:00","slug":"new-training-centre-provides-a-boost-as-network-rail-apprentices-power-the-future-of-britains-railway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=367109","title":{"rendered":"New training centre provides a boost as Network Rail apprentices power the future of Britain\u2019s railway"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Network Rail\u2019s new training facility in Doncaster is already making a difference in helping apprentices develop the skills needed to maintain, improve and future-proof Britain\u2019s railway.<\/p>\n

In the past year, Network Rail has welcomed 290 joiners into its apprenticeship programmes. This forms part of the organisation\u2019s wider commitment to developing skilled talent, with 1,780 apprentices recruited during the last five years.<\/p>\n

Last weekend (Sunday 8 February) marked 100 days since Network Rail revealed the name of the centre \u2013 the Gresley Institute \u2013 following a public vote. The building has been transformed into a modern centre for operational training, education and development. The first apprentices transferred their studies on the operations apprenticeship course to the centre in October, with final assessments taking place this week \u2013 coincidentally National Apprenticeship Week (9-15 February).<\/p>\n

There are 21 classrooms across two floors, with equipment such as signalling simulators \u2013 both traditional lever-pull models and modern systems with visual display units. The centre will eventually train up to 1,000 rail industry colleagues each year.<\/p>\n

Apprentice Peter Turner, 29, from Newcastle, said:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI knew the railway was a great industry to come into for career progression, and I’ve really enjoyed myself since I’ve started in the business.\u00a0I\u2019ve enjoyed going out on different placements, like with the mobile operations managers or sitting with the control centre, but I think I’ve definitely enjoyed the signal train the most so far. For anyone considering this apprenticeship, I\u2019d say look it up, go for it \u2013 it might be the best decision you’ll ever make.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Apprentice Lewis Adey, 30, from County Durham, said:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI was looking for something new, like a new challenge in my career and this\u00a0looked like a good opportunity to get into. Being here at the Doncaster Training Centre, with the group and\u00a0seeing the progression we\u2019re making, that\u2019s been the best part of it. Having a set facility like this means you see the day-to-day rail activity but you have a separation for your studying. You haven’t got all the distractions that you would in some other buildings.\u201d<\/p>\n

Through its wide range of apprenticeship schemes, Network Rail offers hands-on experience and long-term career development across engineering, business, IT, and finance. Apprentices earn while they learn, gaining the skills needed to support the safe and reliable operation of the railway and help connect communities across Britain.<\/p>\n

Richard Turner, Network Rail\u2019s head of apprenticeships, said:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cApprentices play a vital role in keeping Britain\u2019s railway running safely and reliably, and we\u2019re proud to welcome nearly 300 new joiners this year across engineering, business, IT and finance.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur programmes give people hands-on experience, the chance to earn while they learn, and the skills to build long-term careers. They also help us develop the next generation of STEM* talent and create a diverse, future-ready workforce for the railway.\u201d<\/p>\n

As one of the UK\u2019s top 100 apprenticeship employers, Network Rail continues to develop talented apprentices across the railway. Take the first step towards an exciting career in rail at\u00a0networkrail.co.uk\/apprenticeships<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Image credit: Network Rail<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Network Rail\u2019s new training facility in Doncaster is already making a difference in helping apprentices develop the skills needed to maintain, improve and future-proof Britain\u2019s railway. In the past year, Network Rail has welcomed 290 joiners into its apprenticeship programmes. This forms part of the organisation\u2019s wider commitment to developing skilled talent, with 1,780 apprentices [\u2026]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2022,16013,16017,8221,47,1070,48,2021,16018,85],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-367109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-careers","category-general-interest","category-industry-news","category-people","category-rail-news","category-recruitment","category-technology","category-training","category-training-recruitment","category-uk"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367109","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=367109"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367109\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":367319,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367109\/revisions\/367319"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=367109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=367109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=367109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}