NETWORK Rail is expanding its award-winning advanced apprenticeship scheme and pledges to recruit 140 new apprentices to start training next March, with 16 places available for young people living to the south and west of London.

The three-year scheme will now offer 300 young people the chance to “earn while they learn” in 2017. Apprentices will be recruited in two intakes – in March and September – gaining valuable work experience, transferable skills and recognised qualifications.

Stuart Kistruck, managing director for Network Rail’s Wessex route, said: “We are already in the midst of the largest investment in the railway since the Victorian era, and over the coming years we will be continuing to deliver our railway upgrade plan, including new track, new signalling, longer platforms and better stations. This is a perfect opportunity for anyone with determination, talent and enthusiasm. We can help you to build your career, and you can help us to build tomorrow’s railway.”

Apprentices will spend the first five months of the three-year scheme at Network Rail’s training centre near Coventry, specialising in one of five areas: electrification and plant, overhead lines, signalling, telecoms, or track. They then move to their local depots, including sites in Clapham, Salisbury, Eastleigh and Wimbledon, to learn through on-the-job training on the railway’s front line, gaining knowledge and vital skills from experienced team members, complemented by additional off-railway learning throughout the rest of their time on the scheme.

Last year, Network Rail received more than 4,000 applications for the apprenticeship scheme. Apprentices join the 20,000-strong orange army of frontline engineers and technicians who fix and maintain the rail infrastructure, enabling 1.6 billion rail journeys to be made every year.

The majority of those coming through the apprentice scheme also progress their career with Network Rail, with 85 per cent of those who started on the scheme in 2005, when it was first launched, still working for the organisation.

The Network Rail apprenticeship scheme is open to anyone who is 18 by March 1 next year. The closing date for applications for the March intake is October 31. For more details, visit www.networkrail.co.uk/ap prentices.