Go North East celebrates its apprentices ahead of National Apprenticeship Week

Ahead of National Apprenticeship Week (8 – 14 February 2021), award-winning bus company Go North East is celebrating its engineering apprentices who help keep the wheels moving on over 600 buses.

Go North East employs 250 engineers, 19 of which are engineering apprentices, and four team members were given full-time skilled positions in September when they completed the fourth year of their apprenticeships.

Around 90% of Go North East’s engineers originally starting out as apprentices, including Colin Barnes, the company’s engineering director who started at the company when he was 17-years-old.

The company is also looking ahead to September where it plans to take on more first year apprentices, which will be part of a drive from Go-Ahead, Go North East’s parent company, to hire more than 1,100 apprentices across its bus and rail companies in 2021.

Colin Barnes, engineering director at Go North East, said: “We recognise that there is a shortage of skilled engineering people and that apprenticeships are vital in recruiting top young talent.

“Our apprenticeships are designed to provide an increased amount of on the job training and give youngsters the best chance to develop a career with us.”

To find out more about Go North East, visit www.gonortheast.co.uk.