New apprenticeship courses prepare women for leadership roles at UK’s largest train company

• Govia Thameslink Railway is celebrating International Women’s Day with new training schemes tailored towards female employees.
• Courses aim to equip candidates to become next generation of managers and leaders.

Ahead of International Women’s Day (8 March), Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), has announced it is bringing two new apprenticeship courses to employees to help develop female talent within the business.

Available as Level 3 and Level 5 apprenticeships, the Women in Leadership training programmes will be delivered by education provider, Learnmore, and cover a variety of modules to upskill and empower women in the workplace.

Whilst rail companies are doing more to attract and retain female talent, the industry as a whole is still largely dominated by men, with women accounting for just over 17% of the total workforce[1]. At GTR, this number is higher, at around 20%, but there is still a way to go to close the gap.

Last year, the rail operator saw a 50% increase in the number of female employees taking on apprenticeships and GTR hopes this trend will continue with the launch of these new female-focused training courses.

Zoey Hudson, Head of Development, Learning and Inclusion at GTR, said: “We’re really proud that the number of females working at GTR is above the industry average, however we’d like the numbers to be even higher. Whilst we’re working hard to make the railway a more attractive industry to women, we’re also passionate about enhancing the talent that’s already with us.

“We know that in a traditionally male-dominated environment, it can be hard for women to find the right opportunities to develop their skills, which is why we’ve decided to launch these two new tailored courses. Our hope is that females across the business relish the opportunity to learn vital leadership skills and that over time, we’ll see more people climbing the career ladder as a result.”

Women in Leadership Level 3 is an entry-level course aimed at females who are aspiring to become managers. The 15-month training programme combines a mixture of workshops and masterclasses covering topics, such as project and team management, the importance of networking, developing presence and professionalism and looking beyond the glass ceiling and the imposter syndrome theory.

The Level 5 version of the programme, launching this summer, covers the same topics but requires a higher standard of evidence at the end point assessment and is aimed at mentors that can drive future generation leaders in the organisation.

The new courses are launching alongside a Level 7 Senior Leadership training course and a Level 4 Data Analyst course, bringing the rail operator’s apprenticeship offering to a total of almost 20 programmes for colleagues to take advantage of.

With no limit on the number of apprenticeships you can complete at GTR, some females are taking full advantage of the opportunity to increase their knowledge and experience of different specialties.

Case studies:

• Lily Scott is a member of GTR’s Infrastructure team and is preparing to start her third apprenticeship to help take her career to the next level. Read her story here.
• Elba Lovelace-Francis recently qualified as a train driver after completing her apprenticeship. She was previously out of work for 18 months. Read her story here.

GTR has also recently become part of the Women in Rail cross-industry mentoring scheme, giving five colleagues the chance to be mentored by an experienced industry specialist for nine months and help them develop their career.

ENDS

Notes to editors

• GTR uses apprenticeships as work-based training programmes to help upskill the current workforce and ensure new employees have the best possible start to their railway careers
• There is no age limit for GTR’s apprenticeship courses and many do not have any entry requirements
• A GTR apprenticeship offers a competitive salary matched with travel benefits
• More information: GTR | Careers (gtrailwaycareers.com)

References