Lunch Lesson 12 - Apprenticeships

The Bluebell Railway in East Sussex is a popular tourist attraction.

It's just been voted Railway of the Year by the Good Britain Guide.

But the old steam trains don't look after themselves.

Behind the scenes at the idyllic Brief Encounter-style railway station at Sheffield Park is a team of staff and volunteers keeping the place - and more importantly, the engines - running.

Maintenance

It can take years to make repairs to a steam engine.

Parts have to be hand-made and the uniqueness and sheer size of the machines - one in the workshop this week weighed 128 tonnes - means there are no production line style repair systems.

Not only is the work difficult but finding people willing and able to carry it out is hard.

Bluebell has a small team of paid staff who work full-time.

It also has a band of volunteers who share their skills and time for the good of the railway.

Specialised

Maintaining steam engines is a specialised job.

Earlier this year Bluebell decided it would be a good idea to train somebody up as an apprentice.

Henry: Hobby has become his job

In conjunction with Crawley College they took on 18-year-old Henry Mowforth.

The team at Bluebell had been concerned that colleges wouldn't be interested in the scheme but Gill Timlett, the area training co-ordinator at Crawley College, welcomed the idea.

"It's an opportunity for people like Henry, for young people, to learn skills here in the workplace and gain nationally recognised qualifications," she says.

Henry has been involved in the railway for some time. Both his parents are volunteers.

Theory

For him the apprenticeship gives him the chance to learn the theory and practice of a trade he's interested in.

"I've been working on steam engines all my life," he says.

"When the apprenticeship came up I thought I'll carry on with this and see how it goes."

Henry gets hands-on experience

Henry spends two days at college and three in the workshop at Bluebell.

The scheme is called an Advanced Modern Apprenticeship.

It is a flexible arrangement but will probably last four years, over which time the number of days he spends in college will decrease and those in the workshop increase.

He will gain NVQs level two and three.

Henry gets paid £7,000 a year by Bluebell. His college fees are paid by the government.

Time gone by

There was a time when apprenticeships were the standard way to get into a profession.

Schemes were even more hands-on than Henry's.

Tim McGaw, now a volunteer at The Bluebell Railway, was one of a number there who started their working lives as apprentices in railway yards.

Tim: Started at the bottom

"Apprentices in my day were used as cheap labour," recalls Tim. "If they didn't have apprentices in the works, then the works would have closed down.

"I started off at 30 bob a week (£1.50) and it went up in the second year to 35 shillings.

"Then there was a huge jump when you were 18. You got 45 shillings a week and I thought I was a film star I had so much money!"

Success

The team at Bluebell are pleased with the way the apprentice scheme has worked out. They are keen to take another one.

They've found, though, that their type of engineering and their location seem to be putting young people off.

"Obviously we need to attract the right people with the right skills," says the railway's Chris Shepherd.

"In the computer age, hands-on like what Henry does now is going out the window.

Future

"We feel we must train people to do what we need and that means taking Henry from school, sending him to Crawley College and training him on site here as well."

Henry is one of 100 apprentice engineers at his college.

Although his particular trade may cater for a very small market, it's one steeped in history and with tourists queueing up to admire its results.

With the decline of manufacturing in this country and the transfer of jobs abroad, who knows - it may well outlast some of the more modern engineering jobs on offer.

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Student Guide

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Henry Mowforth has always loved steam trains.

He's one of those lucky people who's turning his hobby into a job - but first it takes training.

Henry is doing a Modern Apprenticeship in mechanical engineering so he's learning the up-to-the-minute stuff at college but working on the wonderful old steam engines on the Bluebell railway.

Just think...

Why do you think Henry needs training?

What advantage does the mix of college and work have for Henry?

How does it work?

Henry is learning all about keeping the trains running and restoring ones that arrive at the Bluebell Railway.

The locomotive on the right was bought from a scrap yard and restored to working order.

It took 12 years, and included the construction of a new tender body in the railway's workshop. This is the sort of thing that Henry is learning.

Henry is paid a wage by the railway. He's there for three days a week and does two at college.

To begin with, his skills are limited but the longer he's at college, the more useful he becomes.

As he's been a volunteer for a long time, he probably knows more than the average apprentice working in another business but that's unusual.

Businesses that take on apprentices expect them to be learning on the job.

The Bluebell Railway is paid a subsidy by the government to help pay Henry's wages.

The government wants to encourage businesses to train people so they become more highly skilled and therefore more productive.

Just think...

Why do you think the Bluebell Railway is prepared to pay Henry while he is training?

Why does the government want people to be more productive?

Why do you think the government wants to encourage training?

Why should businesses train their staff?

Some businesses are unwilling to train staff. They think it's too expensive.

Training may be on the job or off the job. Henry does some of both.

When he's at college, it's off the job.

When he's at work, it's on the job.

Wherever the training takes place, it costs the business money because other people are involved and the trainee is not at work.

The Bluebell Railway is a bit unusual because Henry's mentor is a volunteer and doesn't have to be paid. He helps because he loves steam engines. In another business the mentor would be another member of staff.

All big companies have extensive training schemes for their staff. It is important that people know what they are doing and develop new skills because most jobs involve change.

If they don't keep up to date, the business will get left behind. It's important that people know what they are doing when new machinery is installed or new computer systems are introduced.

If they are not trained, things may go wrong, accidents might happen and everything will take longer. These are expensive options.

Training also motivates people because it keeps them interested. Most people get bored if they do the same things day after day.

Just think...

Why is it important for Henry to have both on the job and off the job training?

What costs are involved in carrying out training?

Why is it important for a business to train its staff?

What may happen if it doesn't?

Explain why training motivates people. Whose theory helps to explain this?

Why do some businesses not offer training?

Training is expensive and it helps employees become more marketable. The more skills you have, the easier it is to find a job. With more skills, you can earn more money.

Businesses therefore fear that people will leave once they are trained and their investment will have been wasted.

As a result some businesses have been known to train people in very narrow fields so their skills are not very transferable.

Just think...

Why is training thought of as an investment?

Why do some businesses offer narrow training?

Why might this strategy not be successful in the long run?