Adina Strajeru, a Greater Anglia conductor who has completed an apprenticeship Greater Anglia is celebrating National Apprenticeship Week, with more than 100 staff currently undertaking qualifications. The train company offers fully funded apprenticeships to all its staff, regardless of their age or the stage of their career, giving them the chance to develop and improve their skills to reach their full potential. The train operator offers the apprenticeships for free in levels two to five, from an intermediate level up to a higher apprenticeship level, the equivalent of a foundation degree. The scheme is open to drivers, conductors, customer service staff, train presentation teams and those who work in offices across the network. It allows for tutor-led training but also gives crucial on-the-job training, allowing the apprentice to improve and gain skills – from communication and teamwork to problem-solving or learning about other areas of the business and the wider rail industry too. Support and mentorship are provided on an ongoing basis by the learners’ managers, training provider-allocated coaches and skills tutors. It means that anyone who completes it will gain a nationally recognised qualification, along with useful transferable skills. Viktorija Novikova, Greater Anglia’s Early Careers and Apprenticeship Manager, said: “Our apprentices are a vital part of the Greater Anglia workforce, coming from a range of operations, customer service and office-based roles. “Apprenticeships allow everyone to develop skills that all ultimately improve the experience provided to our customers day-in, day-out. “Our apprenticeship scheme has been open since 2017 and we’ve trained hundreds of our colleagues in that time, from all areas of the business. “There’s a perception that apprenticeships are just for those fresh out of school, but that’s really not the case. They can be started at any age and can provide a wealth of skills that you didn’t have before, all the while being given support and guidance – meaning our staff can really hit their full potential, no matter what their role.” Adina Strajeru, who currently works as a conductor at Greater Anglia, has undertaken an apprenticeship as part of her role. She said: “The apprenticeship gave me a lot of confidence doing my role and it gave me the ability to understand people better. It has also helped me to deliver a better standard of customer experience.” Throughout National Apprenticeship Week, Greater Anglia will be sharing stories from its current and former apprentices across its social media channels.