(L - R): TT2’s Phoebe Armstrong and April Taylor with Access Training’s Kerry Burlison.

Rising service demand at Tyne Tunnels leads to “bumper” apprentice recruitment

Traffic at the Tyne Tunnels is up by a fifth since it switched to open-road-tolling, which has led to the recruitment of eight new apprentices, and vacancies for two more, to keep pace with service demand.

During the last 12 months, TT2 which operates the tunnels, has seen a 20 per cent increase in journeys and a cohort of new people join the organisation.

TT2 has formed a partnership with Gateshead based Access Training to train its latest apprentices, who are forging careers in human resources and business administration via on-the-job and day-release learning at Access’ training centre, on Team Valley.

As well as the eight new apprentices in post, TT2, based in Wallsend, has asked Access Training to recruit two more employees into apprenticeship positions in human resources (Level 3) and project management (Level 4). TT2 also employs data analysts, social media, business admin and IT support apprentices.

Nicki Wood, training lead at TT2, commented: “Apprentices help bring a fresh perspective to the ‘everyday’. They are vital in creating diverse thinking in our workforce and bringing us up-to-date theories and perspectives through their learning at Access Training.

“With the launch of open-road-tolling, TT2 recruited over 80 new employees, and thanks to growth of the company and our positive experience of taking on apprentices, we have now added further brand-new roles to teams.”

Phoebe Armstrong, 25, from North Tyneside, recently completed an 18-month apprenticeship in HR with Access Training and is now an Internal Communications Assistant at TT2.

Before her HR apprenticeship, Phoebe worked in a hair salon but when she was furloughed during Covid, she took the opportunity to pursue a career in business by completing a government-funded business admin qualification, which led her to go onto secure an apprenticeship at TT2.

Phoebe said: “I wanted to gain a qualification in something I was interested in, whilst also gaining experience and knowledge of the job and being paid. I have thoroughly enjoyed my apprenticeship experience from start to finish, it really opened my eyes to the world of HR and how an organisation works internally.

Kerry Burlison, client relationship manager from Access Training, added: “Working with TT2 has been a fantastic experience and I’m delighted they have chosen Access to repeat the process. It’s very rewarding to see how the apprentices we recruited have developed their knowledge and skills, and how they have added value to their organisation.”

By Matthew Neville – Senior Correspondent, Bdaily