Track & Train - Rail initiative graduate programme

Think about where your career is going. Then think about Track & Train – a new and innovative programme that showcases the diversity of opportunities within a growing and dynamic rail industry.

The Track & Train programme is specifically designed to help graduates who haven’t yet managed to get on the career ladder, the programme could provide you with valuable paid work experience, an opportunity to develop your skills and give you wider employment experience and training to help you further your career.

It’s a nationwide programme supported by 27 companies across the sector and it’s aimed at people who have graduated from University in the last 2 years.

Partners supporting the programme…

Track & Train joins up all the varied sections of the rail industry –providing a unique insight into every area of the nation’s railways.

• Network Rail
  Network Rail is the not for dividend owner and operator of Britain's railway infrastructure, which includes the tracks, signals, tunnels, bridges, viaducts, level crossings and stations.
• Train Operating Companies
  These companies are the consumer face of the rail industry, running rail passenger services, and leasing and managing stations from Network Rail. They generally apply for franchises to run specific routes from the Department for Transport, and they normally lease trains from rolling stock companies.
• Freight Operating Companies
  These companies use the rail network to transport goods as a fast, cost-effective and more environmentally friendly alternative to road transport operators.

About the programme…

Your placements will be varied, and typical roles in Track & Train will be in network, train and freight operations, station and train teams and customer service. The majority of your experience will not be office based (in fact, you should expect to be working outdoors for a large proportion of your time as real experience of the railway will not come from looking out of a window).

• You will be paid a salary of £22,000pa
• You will receive 21 days leave (which includes bank holidays) for each of the years 2012 and 2013
• An 18-month programme and an opportunity to develop real workplace skills
  • One 6-mth placement in Network Rail learning about how the infrastructure operates
  • Two 6-mth placements with a train, freight or supplier company
• We expect to be able to offer placements in the following locations:
  • Outer London, Birmingham, York, Nottingham, Derby, Sheffield, Swindon, Bristol, Cardiff, Crewe, Hull, Liverpool, Derby, Southend, Glasgow, Milton Keynes, Central London, Bedford, Reading, Dollands Moor (Folkestone), Stoke and Toton (Nottinghamshire)
• Training on the programme will cover topics such as increasing confidence, leadership skills, presentation skills interviewing skills and CV writing
• At the end of the programme you will be given a certificate detailing what you have achieved which you can use as evidence when you apply for other jobs.

To apply, you’ll need to have the following:

• A 2.2 or above in your undergraduate degree.
• You must have graduated no earlier than 2010 and no later than March 2012.
• A minimum of 220 UCAS points (or equivalent) from your top 3 A Level subjects (not including General Studies).
• A* to C for English and Maths GCSE.