Two apprentices from Rail Care Ltd of Wolverton spoke to young people today (Monday 6 Feb) about their career choices.

Amanda Dinham and Liam Boddy spoke to Year 11 students at The Milton Keynes Academy as part of a series of events organised to promote National Apprenticeship Week. 

The two apprentices told the students how the combination of being paid to train and gaining practical work experience had benefited them.

21-year-old Liam is in his fourth year of an engineering apprenticeship and is currently studying at HNC level. He said: "Landing the apprenticeship worked out really well for me as I discovered a passion for working with electrical systems on trains. In a couple of years I will have a degree and six years work experience but no university debt and a good job."

Rail Care Ltd takes on five apprentices each year with a starting salary of £9,750 and is currently encouraging applications.  It was stressed how important good GCSE grades were to gain an apprenticeship, employers would be looking for at least four GCSE grades at A-C, including English, Maths and, depending on the employer, Science.

Connexions:MK Careers Advisor Colin Middleton added:  "We don't want any young people to leave school without going into work or further training. We want them to understand all their options at age 16 including sixth form, college or apprenticeships."