Further success for East Ayrshire students at the QTS Rail Skills Academy

November 2022

The second cohort of 10 young people has successfully completed the QTS Rail Skills Academy and are now heading out into the railway industry fully equipped to get to work.

Delivered by QTS Training and funded through the East Ayrshire Council's Young Person Guarantee programme, the second group of candidates started their journey in August 2022 and have all successfully completed the nine-week programme.

The training received on the course provided the young people with recognised railway competencies, including PTS and Track Induction as well as health & safety, small tools and first aid. As with the initial cohort this group completed five weeks of classroom training followed by four weeks of on-site work experience, designed to equip them with a well-rounded understanding of the industry.

Lorna Gibson, Director of QTS Training said:

“It’s fantastic to be here again celebrating another group of 10 young people who have taken this opportunity and thoroughly embraced it. They have worked so hard over the nine weeks, and it’s been fantastic to not only see them grow but hear the wonderful positive feedback from our site teams they’ve been working with.”

One of the Skills Academy graduates, Chantelle Nisbet said:

"We were able to work on-site which was great. I thought it was fun and I enjoyed de-veg and civil engineering, it was really interesting. I was hesitant at first but anyone who’s not sure about the Skills Academy should just go for it, because you don’t know you like it until you try it.”

As with the first programme the second culminated in a celebration event with a number of rail industry employers joining the QTS team to meet the young people and discuss employment opportunities with them.

Trainees attending the Rail Skills Academy receive a £55 per week training allowance, together with lunch subsistence. Transport is also arranged where required to assist with travel to the QTS HQ at Drumclog, Lanarkshire.

The Rail Skills Academy is open to anyone aged 18-24 who lives within the East Ayrshire area, with no formal training or experience required. QTS is currently working with other areas in Ayrshire to hopefully open up entry to the Academy to a wider group.

For more information on future Skills Academy programmes contact janemcfadzean@qtsgroup.com and follow QTS Training on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.