Siemens Mobility Limited has selected Selby College as the training partner for its new rail facility in Goole, East Riding of Yorkshire. The company has received some 200 applications for the facility’s first 12 apprentice roles.

The apprentices will be the first of up to 700 employees for the pioneering rail manufacturing facility. They will spend their first year at Selby College, developing core engineering skills, as part of a comprehensive, three-year training programme beginning in September 2020 through to joining the workforce at the Goole factory when it opens in 2023. The majority of applicants for the Level 3 Rail Technician Apprenticeship positions are from East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.

Selby College is a high-achieving college with an excellent reputation and is just 10 miles from the Goole site. The college has been selected due to its outstanding track record of delivering apprenticeships, excellent facilities, focus on student welfare and health and safety, and proximity to the development site.

Sambit Banerjee, Managing Director Rolling Stock and Customer Services, for Siemens Mobility Limited, said: “The appointment of Selby College is another important milestone for our Goole facility and will have a key role to play in helping us create a legacy of highly-skilled engineers.”

He continued: “The number and quality of applications indicates the level of interest in this incredibly exciting project. The demand for these entry-level opportunities bodes well for future recruitment for a wide range of manufacturing, engineering and associated roles as the project continues to move forward.”

Phil Sayles, Principal and Chief Executive of Selby College, added: “We’re delighted to be supporting Siemens Mobility as they deliver the most significant development in this area for decades. As the closest full-scale college to Goole, with significant engineering facilities and partnerships with industry, we feel we are well placed to play a key role in this project. Our excellent campus will provide a great base for the apprentices during their time with us.

“It’s vital that local people have the opportunity to realise their potential and take on fulfilling roles that will bring prosperity to their families and to the area. Siemens Mobility’s investment, the jobs it will create and partnerships with training providers like us creates exactly those opportunities.”

Construction of the £200m Goole manufacturing facility, which will create up to 700 skilled jobs as well as 250 in the construction phase, is expected to start later this year, pending detailed planning approval from East Riding of Yorkshire Council.

It will be complemented by research and development, digital innovation and supplier facilities, together forming a unique “rail village” at the Goole site.

A key catalyst for the development was a £1.5bn contract with London Underground Limited, a subsidiary of Transport for London (TfL), to build a new generation of tube trains for the Piccadilly line.