UK: Randstad Infrastructure is to expand its workforce by 50% and take on apprentices after being awarded a national contract to supply signalling engineers to Network Rail.
Candidates do not need previous railway experience, but must be at least 18 and eligible to live and work in the UK. They will be directly employed by Randstad throughout their three-year apprenticeships, moving onto a full-time permanent position, and will train to obtain the Institution of Railway Signal Engineers licence.
Randstad will also be hiring at other levels, including professionals with 15-20 years’ experience who could earn more than £70 000.
‘An apprenticeship means the chance to earn a real wage while you learn’, said Simon Harris, Senior Director of Operations. ’Once you are qualified, you will be set for well-paid, secure, full-time employment here.
‘These jobs should also appeal to people who like to learn while getting stuck in, rather than in the more theoretical university approach. The rail industry is currently going through one of the largest transformations ever, as the network is expanded and modernised — this is a great opportunity to be part of that. And if you are interested in working on the railways but are put off by the nature of contract work and temporary jobs, these roles — all offering full time contracts, guaranteed work and pay — could be for you.’
Technical Director David Hersey said ’the big providers tend to employ management and supervision, and use agencies to source site-based staff. That’s one of the reasons that the workload in rail is so uncertain. But we’ve always employed our staff directly, invested in them, developed and supported them. Not only is Randstad Infrastructure offering secure, steady employment, we are also offering young people a successful career with a clear path for progression.
‘We have been employing full time staff and training up young people informally for some time — it’s one of the reasons we won the Network Rail contract — but this is a step-change in terms of scale. And whereas most providers will train an apprentice for every £3m of revenue they win on a contract, we have committed to training three times that many.’
