A new recruitment drive by train operator GTR is helping university students in Sussex to get a head start in a railway career by giving them work experience while they continue their degree studies.

GTR operates train services under the banner of Southern, Thameslink, Great Northern, and Gatwick Express services. The new initiative is trialling a new method of recruiting staff for On Board Supervisor (OBS) roles across its network. Instead of advertising vacancies to the general public, the company is working closely with two Sussex universities to attract students to the roles, which are part-time and for which they will be paid.

This new recruitment method will provide young people with the chance to gain much-needed work experience at the same time as they are studying towards their degrees. The benefit to GTR will be to improve staff recruitment in vital parts of the network. In the pilot scheme, five students from the University of Brighton and one student from the University of Chichester will go through eight weeks of training before they are authorised to work unsupervised while officially carrying out OBS duties.

Earlier this month, GTR signed the Rail Youth Charter, which commits the company to helping more young people pursue careers in the rail industry, including the target of doubling the number of 16-24-year-old employees.

Other recruitment drives are being conducted by East Midlands Railway for Fleet Engineer apprentices and by Network Rail.

“This scheme gave us a great opportunity to try something new because our specific requirements didn’t meet the threshold for more traditional full-time or part-time roles. Our new recruits are contracted to work one day a week, during the weekend, so the shift doesn’t interrupt their weekday study commitments. With many young people struggling to enter the world of work, this scheme provides a perfect opportunity for these individuals to take their first steps on the career ladder in what is a fantastic role, and we’re very proud to be the first train operator to trial working with universities directly in this way.”

Jenny Saunders, Customer Services Director, GTR