An apprenticeship in the railway opens up many doors for young people, leading to successful lifelong careers.
A lot of our past apprentices have stayed with ScotRail long after their apprenticeship ended and have gone on to have exciting and fulfilling careers.
We chatted to a few of them, to find out what they're doing now.
Adham Aslam - Customer Information Advisor
The best thing about the apprenticeship was being able to change workplace every six weeks, and working on special events and being able to travel across the entire ScotRail network.
For anyone considering a railway apprenticeship I would say to be prepared to put in the hard work and to learn as much as possible. You have to take advantage of any opportunities that come your way.
My proudest achievement during my time at ScotRail is realising the journey I have come on, and how much I've learnt. I'm excited for the prospects for the future and what I could potentially move to. I would like to achieve further promotions and find myself in management roles where I have the power to make influential decisions.
Megan Moore - External Relations Assistant
I started my Customer Service Modern apprenticeship in August 2018 after spending a year at university studying adult nursing. I had decided that nursing wasn't for me and had then worked as a store manager in retail. I really wanted to find a career where I could be passionate about what I was doing. I'd always heard people say that a job in the railway is for life and that's exactly what I was looking for. I wanted to make a career for myself and I was lucky enough to get a placement within the Communications team.
After completing the apprenticeship I worked at Uddingston station before accepting the role in the social media team. I was part of the team for three years, and I've now just started a new position as an External Relations Assistant, still within the Communications team.
What I loved most about my apprenticeship was getting to meet lots of different people and learning so much from each person I worked with during each placement. I worked on train, in stations and on the gateline during my apprenticeship. I enjoyed working in the ticket office at Glasgow Central the most as it was a fast paced environment with so many different people passing through.
For anyone considering an apprenticeship with ScotRail, I would tell them to take every opportunity that comes to them. The people you meet could help you in your career later in life. I would also tell them to be creative and present on their social media to document their experience and promote the apprenticeship to other young people.
During my time at ScotRail, I've been voted employee of the month which made me feel so proud. I was really impressed to be recognised out of over 5,000 members of staff! Another proud moment for me was when one of my Tweets made it to the news!
I would love to continue to progress and work my way up within ScotRail and show that you can start as an Apprentice and if you work hard enough, you can achieve every goal and dream!
Jordan Bingham - Control Customer Information Manager
After finishing my apprenticeship, I started as a Supervisor Announcer at Paisley Customer Service Centre. Here I was in charge of making safety and train running announcements for the North Clyde of Scotland, covering 172 stations.
Now, I'm working as a Customer Information Manager in the ScotRail Alliance Integrated Control Room, where I'm responsible for the collation and dissemination of real time train running info, alternative transport, and the mobilisation of key staff during times of disruption across the whole of Scotland.
Being an apprentice has opened up so many opportunities for me and I can't recommend it highly enough. You get to properly experience so much of the organisation in a short space of time, which is a really unique position to be in.
Alexander Dey - Customer Information Support
In December 2021, I took on a new role working in ScotRail control at the West of Scotland Signalling Centre in the Customer Information services department. I applied for this because I was always interested in the day to day running of the railways. I always knew that during times of disruption it's a challenge to keep our passengers moving to get to their destination safely, and I wanted to be a part of the team that helps do that. Since being here, I've been impressed by the structure in place with ScotRail control, Network Rail control, maintenance control, BTP embedded inspector and weather monitors - we really are all working together to get our passenger's home safe every day - I am very proud to play my part in that.
It's been a great opportunity to use all the experience gained through the apprenticeship and my time working in frontline customer services on-train to continue providing customer excellence, which I am passionate about. I am very grateful for the opportunity I gained from the ScotRail apprenticeship and am always speaking highly of it. It has certainly been a solid foundation for my own and many others careers.
My advice would be to keep your head down and give it your best. There may be challenges along the way but the benefits of the experience and the knowledge you gain makes it all worth it.
Naomi Neilson - Strategic Resource Manager
After Motherwell, I moved onto Hamilton West Booking Office, before moving onto my third and final placement in Hospitality at Glasgow Queen Street.
In each and every placement I met lots of great people who were so welcoming and willing to share their knowledge and experience. That opportunity to learn directly from the people of our business is, in my opinion, one of the most valuable things an apprenticeship has to offer.
Upon completing my apprenticeship, I secured a full-time position at Newton station where I was welcomed by a lovely team of people. I really enjoyed this role, particularly the interaction with customers and getting to know the regular commuters.
I joined Service Planning as a diagramming assistant in 2014 and have held various roles within the department since then, from crew and unit diagramming to timing trains. The experience I've gained since joining this department has been invaluable and has allowed me to truly appreciate just how much work goes into delivering the service that we do.
I would encourage any young person considering an apprenticeship to go for it. There's a lot of pressure nowadays to leave school and immediately attend university but it's certainly not the only route available. The ScotRail apprenticeship scheme has not only provided me with a job I really enjoy, but has also allowed me to return to further education after establishing my career and for the past four years I have been studying part-time for a degree, which I am due to complete later this year.