Northern Rail work placement

I'm not sure if this will go against the rules for the careers forum (and please let me know if it does), but do Northern (or other north-west TOCs) offer any work experience, and if they do in what departments? My college course requires 30 hours minimum to pass the course and I'd want to do it on the railway as it's an industry I hope to work in the future. I'd really appreciate any advice I could get, thanks

stan claire said:

I'm not sure if this will go against the rules for the careers forum (and please let me know if it does), but do Northern (or other north-west TOCs) offer any work experience, and if they do in what departments? My college course requires 30 hours minimum to pass the course and I'd want to do it on the railway as it's an industry I hope to work in the future. I'd really appreciate any advice I could get, thanks

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Have you tried any of the contact pages via the Northern website? Otherwise maybe going to your most local (larger) station and asking about whether they can put you in contact with anyone might be a good start.

When I was looking for a week placement in train planning (back in 2019), I discovered that it's very difficult! However, if you can find the right person (or someone who knows the right person...) it generally goes quite smoothly.

For example, one of the operators I emailed replied with this:

Unfortunately due to the nature of the business there is no formal process for work experience, however on occasions in the past something has been arranged directly with the local station / depot. If you contact the Station Manager / Staff Manager directly they may be able to arrange something for you or provide you with further advice, you can do this by writing to them or by visiting the station / depot in person.

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I posted a similar thread to you at the time, and a forum member very kindly put in a word or two in the right places. A week or two later, I got a reply to the above email from the head of train planning saying yes!

I would recommend emailing all your local operators (and Network Rail?) and ask them if they can offer anything; if you can find a general careers email address, that's probably a good place to start. If that doesn't get you anywhere, ask in person at a local staffed station (or maybe try several).

(caveat: I do not work in the rail industry, so I may be talking complete rubbish! )

Placements for safety critical and operating roles are not normally considered due to the amount of training required, however there are plenty of other positions that don’t require the same level of competency.

You put your location as Buckshaw Parkway which is very well placed for a commute to Manchester Piccadilly where both Northern and Network Rail have large offices (Square One). Also, Avanti at Preston and Manchester have a large presence including Customer Service roles that aren’t involve in dispatch.

I suggest you contact them all (via email) explaining the type of role you are interested in, and indicating how far you would travel.

Lemmy99uk said:

Placements for safety critical and operating roles are not normally considered due to the amount of training required, however there are plenty of other positions that don’t require the same level of competency.

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Agree with this.

Just to set expectations, it's very very unlikely you will get a placement with a driver, conductor or dispatcher (though you may get a cab ride with a driver manager if you're lucky). You'd have more success with something along the lines of ticket office or planning role.