With the help of The Prince’s Trust, we're helping young adults get their career on track as part of this year’s ‘Get into Transport’ nationwide initiative.
The 'Get into Transport' initiative aims to help young people take their first steps towards a career in transport, by providing work experience (all socially distanced) and helping them develop their core employability skills through virtual workshop sessions.
This year, we supported 11 young Prince’s Trust members all aged between 18-30 as part of a two-week initiative, with placements at our Birmingham Head Office and across our stations on the West Midlands network.
Dependent on the individual’s interests and aspirations, members worked alongside a variety of our teams, including, Revenue Protection, Train Presentation, and Internal Communications. Participants had the chance to travel across the network to experience what it was like working as one of our front-line team members, as well as embarking on internal communication projects to help produce company-wide activities.
Due to COVID-19, the placement was split into two parts, work experience placements and online virtual workshops to help reduce face to face contact. The virtual training workshops included sessions on health & safety, conflict resolution and customer service. The Prince’s Trust also delivered employability training sessions on CV best practice, job application advice, and interview skills.
Jo McPhail, HR director here at West Midlands Railway, said: “We are incredibly proud to work in partnership with The Prince’s Trust to deliver the ‘Get into Transport’ scheme. This initiative aims to engage with our local communities and offer support to young people to help them overcome barriers so they can move forward with their lives. The programme provides a unique opportunity to gain ‘on the job’ experience and training within the rail industry. It has the potential to provide a launchpad to a future career and is also a great way for employers like West Midlands Railway to identify new talent who may not otherwise have considered working in the sector.”
Sarah Taylor, a Prince’s Trust executive, commented: “The ‘Get into Transport’ scheme with West Midlands Railway is not only designed to develop essential skills and boost confidence in an interesting and important industry, but it also gives young people a chance to add recent experience to their CV. The partnership, this year in particular, takes on added importance due to the economic and social devastation caused by COVID-19, which has made it harder for young people to get the kick-start into employment that they need.
“We look forward to continuing working with West Midlands Railway to help engage and inspire young people through the power of rail transport, as well as helping them prepare to become work-ready.”
2020 marked the second anniversary of the partnership with West Midlands Railway and a scheme that will continue over the years to help young people gain vital skills and experience to help get their career on track.
If you are interested in a role in the railway, why not sign up to our career alerts ? Or, if you would like help kick-starting your career, The Prince's Trust may just be the stepping-stone you need.