Transport apprenticeships

Giving you the opportunity to gain hands-on experience keeping the country moving while earning a wage, transport apprenticeships are available across road, rail, aviation and logistics functions

According to Apprenticeships GOV.UK, opportunities exist across:

• cabin crew
• haulage
• passenger transport operations
• passenger transport driver
• rail infrastructure operator
• supply chain practitioner. 

These apprenticeships range from Intermediate Level 2 (equivalent to GCSEs) all the way up to degree Levels 6 and 7 (Bachelors or Masters standard). Read more about the different levels at what is an apprenticeship? and get more information on degree apprenticeships.

Road and railway apprenticeships

For those interested in road or rail careers, there are a number of apprenticeship options with well-known employers.

For example, Transport for London (TfL) has four apprenticeship strands:

• business
• engineering
• London Underground and rail
• technology.

Their business apprenticeships span Levels 3 to 6 and are available in:

• commercial real estate
• data technician
• finance
• general management
• human resources
• project management
• quantity surveying
• supply chain
• transport planning.

The general management apprenticeship takes four years to complete, during which time you'll gain experience across a range of projects, from the Underground and surface transport (such as buses) to pedestrian and river boat services. You'll earn a salary of £27,801.

Over the course of six years, those on the building surveying degree apprenticeship will assist in a variety of construction projects, from essential routine maintenance to major station redevelopments.

Other TfL apprenticeship schemes include:

• signalling and control (Level 2)
• infrastructure operations (Level 2)
• non-destructive testing (Level 3)
• signalling design (Level 3)
• IT solutions technician (Level 3)
• data technician (Level 3)
• vehicles engineering (Level 4)
• software development (Level 4)
• civil engineering (Level 6).

Highways England trains apprentices in several areas across its business. You could work in civil engineering, business administration, customer service or project management. Degree level schemes are available, and Level 3 and 4 pathways have also recently opened up.

Transport consultancies also often take on apprentices, so bear in mind the likes of Atkins and Arup in your job search.

Railway apprentices could find themselves working for companies such as Network Rail, First Group, Northern Rail and Colas Rail as a train driver, in engineering or the management and planning side of operations.

It'll take three years to complete Network Rail's Digital and Technology Solutions Apprenticeships (Level 6). Locations change each year and you'll learn what it means to be a network engineer, project manager, business analyst or information security analyst. Other degree-level Network Rail apprenticeships include:

• construction quantity surveyor
• project controls professional
• project manager
• rail and rail systems engineering.

First Group, which covers Great Western Railway (GWR), South Western Railway (SWR), TransPennine Express (TPE) and First Bus, offers a number of apprenticeships. Depending on the operator you choose to work for, there are programmes in areas such as:

• business
• business administration
• bus technician
• engineering
• HR
• leadership.

Colas Rail offers a range of Level 3 apprenticeships in functions such as rail engineering technician - track, rail engineering technician - overhead lines, rail engineering design technician, rail engineering technician signalling and train driver.

You can also explore other road and rail careers.

Automotive apprenticeships

Most of the UK's leading car companies run apprenticeship schemes:

• Aston Martin Lagonda apprenticeships - intermediate (Level 2), Advanced (Level 3, A-level standard) and Higher (Level 6, degree) awards are on offer in areas including manufacturing, paint, commercial, engineering, IT and design.
• BMW apprenticeships - the three-year Motor Vehicle Technician scheme at advanced Level 3 sees apprentices employed at a BMW retailer while attending the group academy in Berkshire. The technician role is focused on electronics and cutting-edge technology. Other programmes are available in aftersales customer service, body shop, motorcycles, genius training and BMW sales.
• Jaguar Land Rover apprenticeships - an advanced (Level 3) technical apprenticeship with the car manufacturer involves spending four years learning the engineering or manufacturing basics, as you earn a wage of £15,850. The organisation also offers three Level 6 programmes in digital and technology solutions, applied professional engineering and supply chain. The latter takes four years to complete and comes with a salary of £24,480. A Level 7 finance apprenticeship is also available.
• Mercedes-Benz UK apprenticeships - on the three-year scheme, you'll have the opportunity to train as a light vehicle technician, parts operations specialist or heavy vehicle technician, while attending the company's apprentice academy in Milton Keynes.
• Nissan apprenticeships - apprenticeships focus on two main areas - technical and business and production. Technical and business programmes include maintenance technician, production quality support apprentice and engineering, while production schemes cover special skills, manufacturing and logistics. Schemes take between two and five years to complete.
• Volvo apprenticeships - offer two schemes, the heavy vehicle advanced apprenticeship programme and the aftersales advanced apprenticeship programme.

In addition to car apprenticeships with manufacturers, car dealers also run programmes across their dealership network or in their head office. You'll also find opportunities with organisations operating heavy goods vehicles (for example, driver apprenticeships at ALDI), taxis and buses.

Aviation apprenticeships

Aside from airline graduate schemes, many of the leading operatives within the aviation industry also have dedicated apprenticeship programmes.

For instance, British Airways (BA) recruits apprentices in three business areas:

• business
• customer
• operations.

Business apprenticeships include business professional, data scientist and aspiring leader schemes. The latter takes four years to complete and involves you taking on several rotational placements, giving you insight in colleague and customer experience, commercial, operations and strategy roles. You'll also study towards a Level 6 Chartered Management qualification.

Operations programmes include aircraft maintenance, Heathrow operations, IAG cargo and  aircraft workshop. Customer apprenticeships cover global engagement centre and customer service.

Taking two years to complete, the Level 3 engineering technician apprenticeship at Virgin Atlantic trains apprentices to maintain aircraft such as Airbus A350s and Boeing 787s.  

Boeing also runs a range of aircraft apprenticeships including aircraft maintenance, aircraft fabrication and flight services.

Aerospace leader Airbus also takes on apprentices. Degree apprenticeships are available in a range of functions including business, digital, engineering, information management, procurement and supply chain leadership.

Apprentices who complete a one to three-year training programme with the Royal Air Force (RAF) are guaranteed a job in their chosen field. Aircraft technician, weapon technician, air and space operations specialist and supplier are among the many roles you can select from. You'll earn a salary of £18,687 plus benefits by the end of your first year.

Logistics apprenticeships

With customer expectations and automation technology transforming the logistics industry, this is another area where skilled recruits are needed.

Major firms such as DHL look for supply chain apprentices. The logistics company offers a range of apprenticeships, from procurement and vehicle technician to engineering. Their UK supply chain leadership professional degree apprenticeship takes four years to complete and you’ll earn £18,000 per year. Other DHL apprenticeships include:

• commercial procurement
• data
• engineering
• electromechanical engineering (degree)
• finance
• inventory
• paint/body technician
• vehicle technician.

Amazon runs a Level 2, 15-month supply chain scheme. You'll be responsible for managing the movement of goods for a variety of customers. The scheme teaches you how to identify and eliminate waste, create flow and improve quality leading to greater efficiency and increased profitability.

Supermarkets such as ALDI and Co-op also run logistics and supply chain programmes. ALDI's Level 2 logistics scheme pays £328.80 per week. Learn more about apprenticeships with these types of companies at retail apprenticeships.

The armed forces also offer logistics apprenticeships; so visit the Army, RAF and Royal Navy websites to search for opportunities.

Find out more

• Gain an insight into the transport and logistics sector.
• Discover how to apply for an apprenticeship.