"The Apprentice" Tube Lines style - you're hired

Tube Lines has named its apprentices of the year and celebrated their contribution to the London Underground. In a stark contrast to the treatment of contestants on television's The Apprentice, Tube Lines invests in its trainees and nurtures them to become highly qualified Underground technicians.

Seven young people received awards at a special event held by Tube Lines to show appreciation of its apprentices and to recognise their achievements. 14 apprentices completed their training programme and 20 new apprentices signed their deeds of apprenticeship after successfully completing their six month probationary period. Awards were given by Terry Morgan, Tube Lines Chief Executive, to the best apprentice from each year’s intake and to the most improved individuals.

Tube Lines is maintaining and rebuilding the Tube’s busiest lines and has a significant Advanced Apprenticeship scheme to ensure there are qualified experts working on the London Underground for the long term. The Tube Lines apprenticeship programme, which won the Large Employer of the Year Award for London in the City & Guilds Apprenticeship Awards last year, welcomes hard-working young people and offers them excellent career progression. Within four years of completing the scheme, many will be earning over £30,000 per year.

Apprentices spend their first year at Newham College completing a NVQ level 2 qualification in Performing Engineering Operations. Having opted to specialise in one of seven disciplines, including signal design, track maintenance and emergency response, each apprentice then undertakes a series of six-month placements around Tube Lines. They return to college for one day each week. The apprentice programme lasts between three and four years.

Courses are also completed at the Tube Lines Skills Training Centre in Stratford. This £10m state-of-the-art centre with dedicated signalling school ensures apprentices have the best facilities in which to learn specialist skills and safe ways of working.

Terry Morgan, Tube Lines Chief Executive who started his career as an apprentice, said:

“These apprentices are the people who will help ensure the Tube has skilled people to make it work for the long term. They’re the signallers, line managers and leaders of the future. I wish them all the best as they complete their apprenticeships and start out on exciting, rewarding careers on our Underground lines.”

ENDS

For further information or photographs, please contact:
Press office, Tube Lines: 020 7088 4848 / 07843 551 589

Notes to Editors

1. Awards were presented to the following:

   Award	Name	Age	Specialism	Home town
   1st Year Apprentice of the Year	Terri Jones	19	Escalators	Plaistow
   2nd Year Apprentice of the Year	Aaron Churchouse	20	Signals	Hornchurch
   3rd Year Apprentice of the Year	Justyn Okolo	20	Fleet	Dagenham
   4th Year Apprentice of the Year	Michael Cumberbatch	22	Trans Plant	Leyton
   2nd Year Most Improved	Matthew Addinall	19	Signals	Crawley
   3rd Year Most Improved	Joe Gardner	19	Fleet	Upminster
   4th Year Most Improved	Ralph Blake	20	Signals	Hayes

2. Tube Lines is responsible for the maintenance and upgrade of the infrastructure on the Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly lines. London Underground is responsible for operating the Underground, for employing drivers and station staff, for ticketing and fares, and for the Tube’s safety regime.
3. The Tube Lines consortium consists of two shareholders – Amey and Bechtel. They bring together some of the most experienced providers of business services with specialist skills in the rail industry, including track and signal renewals, plus project and operational management. They are providing some of the best project and operational managers from around the world to work on the modernisation of the Tube system. Amey owns two-thirds of Tube Lines’ business and Bechtel one third.

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