Kickstart your career with our exciting 4 year apprenticeship at Chiltern Railways! You'll gain hands-on experience at our depots and earn while you learn as you study at college to earn a Higher National Certificate. You'll work alongside skilled technicians, learning the ins and outs of maintaining our fleet safely and to high environmental standards. By the end, you'll be all geared up to join us full-time, bringing your skills and confidence to help keep our trains on track and drive exciting projects forward.
Our Engineering Apprenticeships are available at several locations: Aylesbury and Wembley with travel to other locations as required; Banbury, Birmingham, London Marylebone, and Stourbridge.
- Starting Salary: £16,419.56
- Start Date: September 2025
Who is an apprenticeship for?
Our programme is designed for anyone aged 16 and over, whether you’re fresh from school or ready for a new challenge. We’re looking for energetic, can-do individuals who are excited about engineering and keen to learn about railways. If you’re enthusiastic about tackling challenges in mechanical, electrical work, numeracy, and literacy, and you’re ready to show off your practical skills, this apprenticeship is for you. Even if you’re still building up your experience, your passion and drive are what count the most!
Entry requirements
To be eligible, you need to have achieved GCSE grades 9–5 in Maths, Science, and one other subject. This ensures you’ve got a solid foundation for all the hands-on and academic training ahead. If you’re passionate about engineering and ready for an exciting challenge, you’re well on your way to joining our team.
What you’ll be doing
Throughout your apprenticeship, you’ll spend 2 to 4 days each week at our maintenance depots, getting involved in real maintenance work on our trains, and the rest at college, learning the theory behind the practice. You’ll explore different areas of maintenance and fault finding, working closely with expert engineers who will guide you every step of the way.
What you’ll get out of it
This apprenticeship isn’t just a job, it’s your platform to success, putting you on the fast track to a brilliant future! Over 4 years, you’ll earn a Level 3 NVQ qualification while gaining priceless work experience.
Enjoy perks like:
- Free travel on Chiltern Railways and Cross Country trains 75% off travel with other train operators
- 25 days holiday per year
- Defined benefits pension
- Exclusive discounts at top high street stores.
Many of our apprentices go on to become senior leaders, such as Principal Engineers and Maintenance Delivery Engineers, making this an unbeatable opportunity to kickstart a brilliant career in engineering!