March 11, 2026 • 22 mins
Want to land a competitive graduate scheme with no rail experience?
In this episode, Megan Taylor shares how she went from studying psychology and working in healthcare to securing a place on the TransPennine Express graduate scheme, beating 1,500 applicants.
We cover:
- The full graduate scheme application process (psychometric tests and assessment centre)
- What it’s like day-to-day
- How transferable skills helped her stand out
- What happens after the graduate scheme ends
---
📝 Unsure what to do?
Take the Prospects job match quiz: https://www.prospects.ac.uk/job-match?utm_source=Podbean&utm_medium=Podcast&utm_campaign=Job+Match_transpennine+
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/futureyou_pod/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@futureyou_pod
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ProspectsJisc
📜 Episode transcripts: https://www.prospects.ac.uk/podcasts/future-you-podcast-transcripts
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
In the railway as well.
(00:00):
There's a lot of early careerprofessionals, young rail professionals.
We've got like group chats within TPA,and then we've
also been to conferencesfor early career professionals.
So my name is Meghan Taylor
and I'm the major projects and customerexperience crunch at TransPennine express.
Welcome to to you
the student and careers advice podcastbrought to you by prospects.
(00:21):
So I think I'm my grad schemesmeant to be in a couple of areas,
but at the momentI'm in the major projects customer team
without going into too much detail,it basically means when there's
engineering works on the railwaythat we make sure that customers
get from A to B, so we make a customerhandling plan, whether that involves
kind of rail replacementbusses or diversions on the railway.
(00:43):
But then we also feed into quitea lot of projects to do with wayfinding
or ticket offices,just to have the customer point of view.
Yeah. Nice.
So did you always envisionworking on the railway?
Not at all really.
I did psychology at uni and even before
uni I worked in a hospitalas a clinical manager for nine months.
(01:05):
I kind of always had in my headthat I would do healthcare.
I when I was at school,I thought I might do medicine
and then wasn't completely sure.
And, and obviously the commitment
you have to put into that,I was like, potentially not.
So I actually changed my mind completelylast minute,
went to uni and to business,which just wasn't for me.
It didn't it wasn't similarto any of the A-levels I'd done.
(01:28):
And kind ofit was just a different way of learning.
And I quickly decidedthat it wasn't for me.
So I dropped out, but not quickly enoughbecause I wasn't able to switch course
that year. So I had to go.
I and work for the nine monthsand then go back.
But yeah, I was.
My parents always say I'mso indecisive about everything,
(01:49):
but for this one decision, I was like,this is not for me.
I need to leave.
So it worked out greatbecause it was actually Covid time.
So I worked for nine monthsin the hospital,
then went back and did psychology,which I just enjoyed so much.
There obviously all areas of the subjectthat aren't my
they weren't my favorite, butyou get to kind of after the first year,
you get to choose your areathat you prefer, like,
(02:12):
so yeah, then did worked in the GP surgeryfor a year, just over a year.
And then I worked on a stroke ward,as a rehab assistant for a year.
And loved all of that.
But then I think next steps.
I was kind of like,what do I do next? Like what?
What is the plan?
And I didn't really know and Iso I think I had a degree.
(02:33):
So I was like,I want to be doing a job that I can use
my degree, and it's kind of at that level.
So I started looking at grad schemesand just the TransPennine express one just
it sounded like it take loads of boxes,especially because
I wasn't completely surewhat I wanted to do.
The major project side of itand customer experience aligned
(02:54):
with lots of what I'd previously done.
So then I was able to
go into that, and I think the whole pointof the grand scheme is to get
that experience and learn the whole time,but also be doing a job.
So it's not like a step back.
It's still like you're
progressing in your career,but you're the whole point is to learn.
Yeah, definitely.
What was the application process like?
(03:15):
So we kind of it was two stages.
So we did a online application.
And then that fed through straightaway
to like a psychometric testingmarks questions all of that.
And that was in February last year.
And then we went toan assessment center in April
which we were asked to prepare,
(03:36):
a presentation,a five minute presentation.
And they gave us the title of what to whatit was on.
And obviously my area was specific
to the like, grad scheme I applied for,but then the three other card scheme.
So that was like,
but we arrived
there and we did a group activity
which was kind of like,you people are stuck in a cave and work
(03:59):
togetherto work out how to escape this cave.
And then we had the interview, which was
but you did do a presentationjust yourself to, the two interviewers
and then the actual interview,which lasted, I think 30, 40 minutes.
And then after thatI found out a week later.
Oh, wow.
Oh, that's so quite quick.
(04:20):
Yeah.
But then obviously thatso that was in April
and then we weren'tstarting till September.
So you had a whileto kind of have a bit of a break.
And while I was still working.
But then I had a break beforestarting again.
How competitive to your understandingwas the application process
and what do you think made you stand out?
(04:40):
Yeah,so I think from what people have said,
it was about 1500 applicantsfor four card schemes.
So very competitive.
And it was the first time they'd done it.
So they had no ideawhat the numbers would be.
And I think,
yeah,you never know what they're going to want.
But I think that
(05:01):
some of my experience having
worked a flight before my degree and aftermy degree probably helped to an extent,
that'sprobably not what graduates want to hear,
but they're goingto have to do some more work.
But I think that did help.
But other than that,I know that, members of my team mentioned
that, like, on my application,I talk a lot about netball, and I
(05:23):
was part of the committee at university,so I did I was a social secretary.
I was a development secretary, which meantI coached lots of the other teams.
And then in my final yearI was captain as well.
So I think kind of the teamworkaspect of that,
I was able to talk about a lotand then leadership parts
of that probably helped kind ofI was able to then be like, so
(05:45):
obviously I've got these experiencesfrom my work
and like professional experiences,
but then also from university,I was part of this committee.
I did lots of organizational stuff.
I did lots of teamwork,I did lots of leadership.
I think that was somethingthat I was able to talk about quite a bit.
Yeah, absolutely.
And then what was it like beginningthat you get thrown in the deep end?
(06:06):
Not at all really.
They were really obviouslyTransPennine express.
I've never done a grand scheme before,
but they were really,really good at kind of easing you into it.
So we had the first week or twowas all like induction, and you were
with the three of the graduatesand then with the early careers manager.
And they just we had talksfrom every different like department.
(06:27):
Well, not every department, but so manydifferent departments on the railway
because none of us had a particularpassion for the railway or trains.
So to kind of learnall of that was really good.
We obviously had the training they managedfor training, they had to do as well.
And then you got a bit of time to kind of
get to know your team, see what they do.
(06:47):
And then we did some frontline work.
So we did a two week placementworking at Manchester Airport,
which is a TPE station,and then at Manchester Piccadilly,
which was so good to we said we've givenfeedback after afterwards and said
that everyone that goes into the railwayshould have that experience because
the railway, the focus is on customers,isn't it?
(07:09):
It's getting customers from A to B,so then to understand
what the frontline staffactually do was so profitable.
It was amazing. Yeah.
So you weren't the only one on thisgrand scheme.
There were others.Yes, there's three others.
So I like that.
I made projects in customer experience.
There's an engineering graduateand he's kind of on the scheme as well,
(07:31):
which means he gets a qualificationthat he's for years rather than two years.
Then there's a Data and InsightSquad two up on.
There's a finance audit and risk graduate.
Nice.
And did youyou specifically applied for your grant.
Yes. Yeah I applied for my grand schemespecifically.
And I think the others did as well,kind of related to their degrees
(07:51):
that they did,I guess the like data and engineering
and finance are kind of
you'd expect them to have those degrees.
Mine was a bit more like I camefrom psychology and I've got kind of the
skills for a job now, but not necessarilymajor projects specifically.
Yeah, completely.
(08:12):
And that's always good in a way I think.
Yeah, yeah,I think I that's kind of what I wanted
because I, I did my degreeand I really enjoyed it.
But then I was like, what next. Yeah.
And I think it was liketo have the different areas
and just see what how a company workswas what I wanted.
Really? Yeah, absolutely.
So what does it dayto day of the grad scheme involve?
(08:33):
So, yeah, I'm currently in the major
projects customer team,which means I'm working with that.
But we have constant check inswith our early careers manager.
I meet up with the graduatesquite frequently.
And I think we.
So I'm currently in this teamand I will be for a while, but
(08:54):
there is the opportunity to do differentplacements, which will be so beneficial.
And my mentor is the regional headof customer experience in the northeast.
And she's kind ofI've spoken to her recently,
and she's going to come up with a plan
for meto experience that side of the business,
which I'm really looking forward tobecause I'm really enjoying the team
(09:15):
that I'm in.
But you don't know what's out there.
And I thinkespecially during these two years,
just to get as much exposure
to all of the different areaswill be exactly what I need to.
Then after that, decide what area I like.
Definitely.
And does that mean that onceyou come to the end of your grad scheme,
you arethe intention is for you to say, yeah.
(09:37):
So I mean, it's kind of again, it's it'sthe question everyone's thinking,
like during the interview,I ask that question
because you want to knowthat there's some sort of guarantee.
But obviously they saidthere isn't a guarantee,
but they don't invest all of this moneyinto you.
And just time to like,
build a pool of your skillsand then just be like, okay, I'll figure.
(09:59):
Right? Yeah.
So, yeah, I think the idea is that youthat hopefully is some form of job
at the end of it,whether that's in a different area,
you just have to kind of seewhat opportunities there are.
But because we have suchgood support systems,
I think after a year or just over a year,we'll probably check in
with the early careers manager,speak to our own manager,
(10:21):
speak to our mentors and be like,we do want a job.
Yeah.
What how can we kind of progress towardsthat?
Obviously, yeah.
Like the main purpose of the grad schemeis to develop your skills overall.
And it's definitely going to do that.
But you want to develop those skillsfor the purpose of having a job.
Yeah, of course.
And ideally a job within this company.And yeah.
(10:42):
Would you say it seems likeit's going to depend on internal vacancies
or anything like that?
But as you say,you can start working towards the job.
You have an idea of the kind of jobyou want.
Yeah.
You can start working earlyto get towards that.
And on the flip side of that,if you are doing the grand scheme
and you're finding that it'snot everything
you thought it was going to beand you want to move away from this area.
(11:05):
I think that's also.
Yeah, definitely.
I mean, I know obviously it's slightlydifferent, but some of the apprenticeships
that like some of the apprenticesthat I've kind of met on within Tppa,
they've been in certainareas of the company
and then they've finished their placement
in that area and gone on to do jobselsewhere.
I think it's a very like whatwe're a big company,
(11:26):
but we're actually in the in the worldof trains and railway, we're quite small.
So no, you get to knowso many different teams
and so many different peopleand there's they're very happy
to have like internal candidatesto different areas of the company.
And also we're going to becomegreat British Rail at some time.
The new one we know one. There's one.
But that's kind of in the works.
(11:47):
So everyone will be coming togetherand we've kind with everyone's
questioning, like, are they going to bethe same jobs that should be?
There's potentially going to beeven more jobs in the rail like,
but will then all come togetherand it'll be a new view of everything.
Yeah.
So you mentioned apprentices therealongside in grad scheme people as well.
So it sounds like there's quite a lotof not necessarily young but like that.
(12:10):
So yeah.
New to the workplace. Yeah.
So I mean in the railway as well.
There's a lot of kind of early careerprofessionals, young rail professionals.
We've got like group chats within TPA.
And then we've also been to conferencesfor early career professionals.
Just to get to know, like the NetworkRail graduates, northern graduates.
We've done collaborationswith northern as well.
(12:31):
So it's been really goodto kind of network in a way.
And with true,they've got this new change challenge
they've called it,which is for early career professionals
to come togetherand basically decide their own project.
And then we're given a budget that wethen have to come up with the project
presented to a panel,and then they would get some feedback,
(12:52):
and then we work through the project,start to actually have an output
at the end of it,which I think is to August time.
So that's something I'm working on atthe moment with those different graduates.
There's apprentices,but there's also just like
is a young reallike professionals that also do that.
So that'll be really good.
But we've also kind ofbecause the same the apprentices in Tppa
(13:15):
and there's only a few graduates, we'vekind of taken it upon the group of us
to make sure that we go outand like do social events together.
So we've been in pizzatogether. We go for a drink together.
We've got like a group chat.
Everyone checks in with each other,so it's really nice.
Yeah. That brilliant.
What has the biggest challengeon the scheme been so far?
(13:38):
I would say the biggest challengehas been so within my team.
One of the project managershas recently left the company.
He's just gone to a different,railway company.
He's known nothing, no reason of the that
but because of that, there'sobviously a vacancy within the team
and the replacement isn't going to startuntil March time, I think.
(13:59):
So I was working quite closely with himbefore he left,
with lots of his projects and everything.
And because he's left, he'skind of passed on this knowledge to me,
and I've kind of had to takea bit of a lead on some of these projects,
obviously working closelywith, my team in every way.
But yeah, I've had to workquite a lot on that.
(14:19):
One of the big major oneshas been the Manchester
Piccadilly partial closure,with platforms 1 to 12 closing.
But I've, I've had to work closely
with so many different like trainoperating companies Network rail
been out and about making surethat everything's working with that.
So that's been challenging.
But I like I said before,
I've spoken to my team,I have weekly check ins with my manager,
(14:40):
and he's so experienced he's able to likehelp me with everything like that.
But then also so many of the differentcompanies,
people doing similar roles to me,have given me so much support
that it's been absolutely fine.
And people are always checking and going,you're doing amazing, but are you okay?
Like, do you know what you're doing?
Are you okay?
So it has been a challenge,
(15:01):
but I think working through it witheveryone has been fun,
brilliant and you've been workingon much wider projects as well.
Yeah.
So for the true,which is the TransPennine route upgrade,
I've had the opportunityto kind of experience some of that.
So when I had the two weeks at the startwith my team,
I did some with the TP specific team.
(15:23):
But then I also worked with two,and I've done quite a bit of,
going out on the networkand seeing how the customer
delivery managers and lotsof different parts of the true team work.
And it's such an interesting projectbecause it is kind of what the railway
is going to become.It's a collaborative approach.
It brings togetherTPE and Northern and Network Rail.
(15:46):
So it's been really interesting to see,and I kind of got the opportunity as well
to help with the recruitment process thatSarah helped with some of the interviews.
And from the assessment centers,which was so good
to see the other side of it,I think to be involved with that
anyway was such a great opportunity,but then also to take away
(16:06):
what my view was on the other sideto then progress,
like for when I do interviewsin the future was pretty good.
Yeah. You mentionedhow much support you get there.
Are there like formal channels of that?
You get support within networking?
Any further qualifications to get anylike what sort of support
is there throughout your grad scheme?Yeah.
So when we were at the assessment centerand then we did kind of, meeting everyone
(16:30):
before we started the job,that was talked about quite a lot.
And it's, it'ssomething that lots of previous.
So the other graduateshave obviously not within TPI,
but for the first company have hadthe opportunity to do qualifications.
And they advertised that stronglywithin TPI.
They say if there's a qualificationthat you think will benefit you
and your career and the company overall,then they're perfectly happy to hear
(16:54):
you'll like request for thatrequest is in the word.
And so one of the obviously,like I said, the engineering graduate
is during his regs, qualification.
And then the finance graduateis looking to potentially do
some finance qualifications.
I at the moment,I'm not too sure what I want to do,
but I think speaking to other peoplewithin the major projects team,
(17:16):
there were definitely differentproject management
qualifications that they've doneand they would recommend me doing.
I think once I've had a bitmore experience to see the different areas
of the railway in my first yearor so, I'll probably try
and go towards doing some years,some of these qualifications, definitely.
But yeah, you got you got so much supportwith everything like manager wise,
(17:37):
mentor wise, early career managersfrom other people that have been graduates
in the railway in the past.
We have kind of a group chat for that.
And they're always like giving suggestionsof what we should do, sending different
like conferences and events thatthey think would be good for us to attend.
So there's so much support.
What sort of skills and qualitiesdo this industry look out for?
(18:01):
So I think
overall that's
probably is a bit of a hard questionto give a straight answer for.
But the graduates within TPAall have different strengths and qualities
for different areas because there'sso many different areas to the company,
there's so many different qualitiesthat will be useful in different areas,
(18:21):
like I said,but I think to be hard working overall,
the want to learn is the biggest thingbecause that's what you're there
for, you thereto give an like an a novel opinion.
And I think to be adaptableis probably one of the main qualities
because we're looking to GBRand it's going to be all new
(18:42):
to have your own new approach,
and to be kind of
naive in situationsis probably a great trait to have,
but to be able to kind of adaptto the massive changes
that are going to come in the nextfew years would be definitely a big one.
Yeah, definitely.
Do you know the logistics of like when
(19:05):
they, when applications open?
So I think so like I said last year
we, we had to apply byI think it was mid Feb.
I know that they've not advertised it now.
So I know we're at that stagenow when people would be panicking.
I think some of the apprenticeswere quite a bit later.
If there's a cohort for this year,I would imagine
(19:25):
it would be advertised on the TF, careerswebsite within the next few months,
if not at some, any time between February.
I'm not sure how late, but if you just.
Yeah, if you just keepchecking the website, I'm sure that would
be, advertised strongly on LinkedInand everything that's always advertised.
(19:47):
Yeah. Brilliant.
And, you know,
if there's going to be three grad schemesagain going forward, I'm not too sure.
I think it basicallythe way it worked for us
was that differentareas of the company were given
the opportunity to kind of askfor a graduate like they wanted.
They expressed interestin wanting a graduate.
So it just dependswhich areas of the business want to ask
(20:07):
for a graduate again?
Whether they have the supportwithin the team to be able to,
help you learn and develop?
I don't think there's a specific number.
It may be two, it may be three, 4 or 5,but I would imagine
it would be more than one.
Just to make sure that there's a bitof a group of people to apply together.
Yeah.
And you're glad that you applied?
(20:28):
Yes, definitely. Definitely.
Yeah.
I think,I didn't know where I was going to go.
I was down the psychology route, stuckin that healthcare kind of
this is where I'm going.
And I had to completely when I was like,I've got a new job.
I told my friends they were like,what are you doing?
Tell them. And like,I thought you were in healthcare.
I thought you were doing psychology.And I'm like, yeah, a complete switch up.
(20:49):
But it's been definitely for the best.Yeah.
And really highlights transferable skills.
Yeah.
And like,practically like exactly what that means.
Yeah.How transferable this skills. Exactly.
Like when I went into the interview,that's just what I tried
to make a lot of my points towards saying,
I know thatI don't have this knowledge in this area,
but I have knowledge in this areawhich is transferable.
(21:12):
So then the customer experiencein the hospital, it's the patient
on the railway, it's the passenger like I
it was you were able to kind of transfer,
like you said, the skills and knowledgeto have that approach.
And at the end of the daythe railway is customer focused,
healthcare is patient focused.
So it's the same kind of goalat the end of it.
(21:35):
Yeah, definitely.
I suppose because it's TransPennineexpress, because we're in the North.
This is a northern opportunity. Yeah.
I think
office is obviously literallyaround the corner in Manchester,
but there are lots of offices within.
There's ones in York,there's ones in Leeds,
(21:55):
Liverpool, lots of different offices.
So it's all in the North.
I think there's the opportunityfor hybrid working as well.
So we are allowed to work from homea few, a couple of days a week.
So I think
one of the graduates commutesquite a long way.
Others have have moved to Manchesterfor the, for the job.
But that as long as you canget to Manchester however many days a week
(22:18):
then yeah it's a, it's own, it'sa northern opportunity.
Yeah. Yeah. For Manchester's lovely.
It's it's a great,a great place to be isn't it.
Great. Well thank you.
Thank you so much for your timetoday. Thank you very much.
In the railway as well.
(00:00):
There's a lot of early careerprofessionals, young rail professionals.
We've got like group chats within TPA,and then we've
also been to conferencesfor early career professionals.
So my name is Meghan Taylor
and I'm the major projects and customerexperience crunch at TransPennine express.
Welcome to to you
the student and careers advice podcastbrought to you by prospects.
(00:21):
So I think I'm my grad schemesmeant to be in a couple of areas,
but at the momentI'm in the major projects customer team
without going into too much detail,it basically means when there's
engineering works on the railwaythat we make sure that customers
get from A to B, so we make a customerhandling plan, whether that involves
kind of rail replacementbusses or diversions on the railway.
(00:43):
But then we also feed into quitea lot of projects to do with wayfinding
or ticket offices,just to have the customer point of view.
Yeah. Nice.
So did you always envisionworking on the railway?
Not at all really.
I did psychology at uni and even before
uni I worked in a hospitalas a clinical manager for nine months.
(01:05):
I kind of always had in my headthat I would do healthcare.
I when I was at school,I thought I might do medicine
and then wasn't completely sure.
And, and obviously the commitment
you have to put into that,I was like, potentially not.
So I actually changed my mind completelylast minute,
went to uni and to business,which just wasn't for me.
It didn't it wasn't similarto any of the A-levels I'd done.
(01:28):
And kind ofit was just a different way of learning.
And I quickly decidedthat it wasn't for me.
So I dropped out, but not quickly enoughbecause I wasn't able to switch course
that year. So I had to go.
I and work for the nine monthsand then go back.
But yeah, I was.
My parents always say I'mso indecisive about everything,
(01:49):
but for this one decision, I was like,this is not for me.
I need to leave.
So it worked out greatbecause it was actually Covid time.
So I worked for nine monthsin the hospital,
then went back and did psychology,which I just enjoyed so much.
There obviously all areas of the subjectthat aren't my
they weren't my favorite, butyou get to kind of after the first year,
you get to choose your areathat you prefer, like,
(02:12):
so yeah, then did worked in the GP surgeryfor a year, just over a year.
And then I worked on a stroke ward,as a rehab assistant for a year.
And loved all of that.
But then I think next steps.
I was kind of like,what do I do next? Like what?
What is the plan?
And I didn't really know and Iso I think I had a degree.
(02:33):
So I was like,I want to be doing a job that I can use
my degree, and it's kind of at that level.
So I started looking at grad schemesand just the TransPennine express one just
it sounded like it take loads of boxes,especially because
I wasn't completely surewhat I wanted to do.
The major project side of itand customer experience aligned
(02:54):
with lots of what I'd previously done.
So then I was able to
go into that, and I think the whole pointof the grand scheme is to get
that experience and learn the whole time,but also be doing a job.
So it's not like a step back.
It's still like you're
progressing in your career,but you're the whole point is to learn.
Yeah, definitely.
What was the application process like?
(03:15):
So we kind of it was two stages.
So we did a online application.
And then that fed through straightaway
to like a psychometric testingmarks questions all of that.
And that was in February last year.
And then we went toan assessment center in April
which we were asked to prepare,
(03:36):
a presentation,a five minute presentation.
And they gave us the title of what to whatit was on.
And obviously my area was specific
to the like, grad scheme I applied for,but then the three other card scheme.
So that was like,
but we arrived
there and we did a group activity
which was kind of like,you people are stuck in a cave and work
(03:59):
togetherto work out how to escape this cave.
And then we had the interview, which was
but you did do a presentationjust yourself to, the two interviewers
and then the actual interview,which lasted, I think 30, 40 minutes.
And then after thatI found out a week later.
Oh, wow.
Oh, that's so quite quick.
(04:20):
Yeah.
But then obviously thatso that was in April
and then we weren'tstarting till September.
So you had a whileto kind of have a bit of a break.
And while I was still working.
But then I had a break beforestarting again.
How competitive to your understandingwas the application process
and what do you think made you stand out?
(04:40):
Yeah,so I think from what people have said,
it was about 1500 applicantsfor four card schemes.
So very competitive.
And it was the first time they'd done it.
So they had no ideawhat the numbers would be.
And I think,
yeah,you never know what they're going to want.
But I think that
(05:01):
some of my experience having
worked a flight before my degree and aftermy degree probably helped to an extent,
that'sprobably not what graduates want to hear,
but they're goingto have to do some more work.
But I think that did help.
But other than that,I know that, members of my team mentioned
that, like, on my application,I talk a lot about netball, and I
(05:23):
was part of the committee at university,so I did I was a social secretary.
I was a development secretary, which meantI coached lots of the other teams.
And then in my final yearI was captain as well.
So I think kind of the teamworkaspect of that,
I was able to talk about a lotand then leadership parts
of that probably helped kind ofI was able to then be like, so
(05:45):
obviously I've got these experiencesfrom my work
and like professional experiences,
but then also from university,I was part of this committee.
I did lots of organizational stuff.
I did lots of teamwork,I did lots of leadership.
I think that was somethingthat I was able to talk about quite a bit.
Yeah, absolutely.
And then what was it like beginningthat you get thrown in the deep end?
(06:06):
Not at all really.
They were really obviouslyTransPennine express.
I've never done a grand scheme before,
but they were really,really good at kind of easing you into it.
So we had the first week or twowas all like induction, and you were
with the three of the graduatesand then with the early careers manager.
And they just we had talksfrom every different like department.
(06:27):
Well, not every department, but so manydifferent departments on the railway
because none of us had a particularpassion for the railway or trains.
So to kind of learnall of that was really good.
We obviously had the training they managedfor training, they had to do as well.
And then you got a bit of time to kind of
get to know your team, see what they do.
(06:47):
And then we did some frontline work.
So we did a two week placementworking at Manchester Airport,
which is a TPE station,and then at Manchester Piccadilly,
which was so good to we said we've givenfeedback after afterwards and said
that everyone that goes into the railwayshould have that experience because
the railway, the focus is on customers,isn't it?
(07:09):
It's getting customers from A to B,so then to understand
what the frontline staffactually do was so profitable.
It was amazing. Yeah.
So you weren't the only one on thisgrand scheme.
There were others.Yes, there's three others.
So I like that.
I made projects in customer experience.
There's an engineering graduateand he's kind of on the scheme as well,
(07:31):
which means he gets a qualificationthat he's for years rather than two years.
Then there's a Data and InsightSquad two up on.
There's a finance audit and risk graduate.
Nice.
And did youyou specifically applied for your grant.
Yes. Yeah I applied for my grand schemespecifically.
And I think the others did as well,kind of related to their degrees
(07:51):
that they did,I guess the like data and engineering
and finance are kind of
you'd expect them to have those degrees.
Mine was a bit more like I camefrom psychology and I've got kind of the
skills for a job now, but not necessarilymajor projects specifically.
Yeah, completely.
(08:12):
And that's always good in a way I think.
Yeah, yeah,I think I that's kind of what I wanted
because I, I did my degreeand I really enjoyed it.
But then I was like, what next. Yeah.
And I think it was liketo have the different areas
and just see what how a company workswas what I wanted.
Really? Yeah, absolutely.
So what does it dayto day of the grad scheme involve?
(08:33):
So, yeah, I'm currently in the major
projects customer team,which means I'm working with that.
But we have constant check inswith our early careers manager.
I meet up with the graduatesquite frequently.
And I think we.
So I'm currently in this teamand I will be for a while, but
(08:54):
there is the opportunity to do differentplacements, which will be so beneficial.
And my mentor is the regional headof customer experience in the northeast.
And she's kind ofI've spoken to her recently,
and she's going to come up with a plan
for meto experience that side of the business,
which I'm really looking forward tobecause I'm really enjoying the team
(09:15):
that I'm in.
But you don't know what's out there.
And I thinkespecially during these two years,
just to get as much exposure
to all of the different areaswill be exactly what I need to.
Then after that, decide what area I like.
Definitely.
And does that mean that onceyou come to the end of your grad scheme,
you arethe intention is for you to say, yeah.
(09:37):
So I mean, it's kind of again, it's it'sthe question everyone's thinking,
like during the interview,I ask that question
because you want to knowthat there's some sort of guarantee.
But obviously they saidthere isn't a guarantee,
but they don't invest all of this moneyinto you.
And just time to like,
build a pool of your skillsand then just be like, okay, I'll figure.
(09:59):
Right? Yeah.
So, yeah, I think the idea is that youthat hopefully is some form of job
at the end of it,whether that's in a different area,
you just have to kind of seewhat opportunities there are.
But because we have suchgood support systems,
I think after a year or just over a year,we'll probably check in
with the early careers manager,speak to our own manager,
(10:21):
speak to our mentors and be like,we do want a job.
Yeah.
What how can we kind of progress towardsthat?
Obviously, yeah.
Like the main purpose of the grad schemeis to develop your skills overall.
And it's definitely going to do that.
But you want to develop those skillsfor the purpose of having a job.
Yeah, of course.
And ideally a job within this company.And yeah.
(10:42):
Would you say it seems likeit's going to depend on internal vacancies
or anything like that?
But as you say,you can start working towards the job.
You have an idea of the kind of jobyou want.
Yeah.
You can start working earlyto get towards that.
And on the flip side of that,if you are doing the grand scheme
and you're finding that it'snot everything
you thought it was going to beand you want to move away from this area.
(11:05):
I think that's also.
Yeah, definitely.
I mean, I know obviously it's slightlydifferent, but some of the apprenticeships
that like some of the apprenticesthat I've kind of met on within Tppa,
they've been in certainareas of the company
and then they've finished their placement
in that area and gone on to do jobselsewhere.
I think it's a very like whatwe're a big company,
(11:26):
but we're actually in the in the worldof trains and railway, we're quite small.
So no, you get to knowso many different teams
and so many different peopleand there's they're very happy
to have like internal candidatesto different areas of the company.
And also we're going to becomegreat British Rail at some time.
The new one we know one. There's one.
But that's kind of in the works.
(11:47):
So everyone will be coming togetherand we've kind with everyone's
questioning, like, are they going to bethe same jobs that should be?
There's potentially going to beeven more jobs in the rail like,
but will then all come togetherand it'll be a new view of everything.
Yeah.
So you mentioned apprentices therealongside in grad scheme people as well.
So it sounds like there's quite a lotof not necessarily young but like that.
(12:10):
So yeah.
New to the workplace. Yeah.
So I mean in the railway as well.
There's a lot of kind of early careerprofessionals, young rail professionals.
We've got like group chats within TPA.
And then we've also been to conferencesfor early career professionals.
Just to get to know, like the NetworkRail graduates, northern graduates.
We've done collaborationswith northern as well.
(12:31):
So it's been really goodto kind of network in a way.
And with true,they've got this new change challenge
they've called it,which is for early career professionals
to come togetherand basically decide their own project.
And then we're given a budget that wethen have to come up with the project
presented to a panel,and then they would get some feedback,
(12:52):
and then we work through the project,start to actually have an output
at the end of it,which I think is to August time.
So that's something I'm working on atthe moment with those different graduates.
There's apprentices,but there's also just like
is a young reallike professionals that also do that.
So that'll be really good.
But we've also kind ofbecause the same the apprentices in Tppa
(13:15):
and there's only a few graduates, we'vekind of taken it upon the group of us
to make sure that we go outand like do social events together.
So we've been in pizzatogether. We go for a drink together.
We've got like a group chat.
Everyone checks in with each other,so it's really nice.
Yeah. That brilliant.
What has the biggest challengeon the scheme been so far?
(13:38):
I would say the biggest challengehas been so within my team.
One of the project managershas recently left the company.
He's just gone to a different,railway company.
He's known nothing, no reason of the that
but because of that, there'sobviously a vacancy within the team
and the replacement isn't going to startuntil March time, I think.
(13:59):
So I was working quite closely with himbefore he left,
with lots of his projects and everything.
And because he's left, he'skind of passed on this knowledge to me,
and I've kind of had to takea bit of a lead on some of these projects,
obviously working closelywith, my team in every way.
But yeah, I've had to workquite a lot on that.
(14:19):
One of the big major oneshas been the Manchester
Piccadilly partial closure,with platforms 1 to 12 closing.
But I've, I've had to work closely
with so many different like trainoperating companies Network rail
been out and about making surethat everything's working with that.
So that's been challenging.
But I like I said before,
I've spoken to my team,I have weekly check ins with my manager,
(14:40):
and he's so experienced he's able to likehelp me with everything like that.
But then also so many of the differentcompanies,
people doing similar roles to me,have given me so much support
that it's been absolutely fine.
And people are always checking and going,you're doing amazing, but are you okay?
Like, do you know what you're doing?
Are you okay?
So it has been a challenge,
(15:01):
but I think working through it witheveryone has been fun,
brilliant and you've been workingon much wider projects as well.
Yeah.
So for the true,which is the TransPennine route upgrade,
I've had the opportunityto kind of experience some of that.
So when I had the two weeks at the startwith my team,
I did some with the TP specific team.
(15:23):
But then I also worked with two,and I've done quite a bit of,
going out on the networkand seeing how the customer
delivery managers and lotsof different parts of the true team work.
And it's such an interesting projectbecause it is kind of what the railway
is going to become.It's a collaborative approach.
It brings togetherTPE and Northern and Network Rail.
(15:46):
So it's been really interesting to see,and I kind of got the opportunity as well
to help with the recruitment process thatSarah helped with some of the interviews.
And from the assessment centers,which was so good
to see the other side of it,I think to be involved with that
anyway was such a great opportunity,but then also to take away
(16:06):
what my view was on the other sideto then progress,
like for when I do interviewsin the future was pretty good.
Yeah. You mentionedhow much support you get there.
Are there like formal channels of that?
You get support within networking?
Any further qualifications to get anylike what sort of support
is there throughout your grad scheme?Yeah.
So when we were at the assessment centerand then we did kind of, meeting everyone
(16:30):
before we started the job,that was talked about quite a lot.
And it's, it'ssomething that lots of previous.
So the other graduateshave obviously not within TPI,
but for the first company have hadthe opportunity to do qualifications.
And they advertised that stronglywithin TPI.
They say if there's a qualificationthat you think will benefit you
and your career and the company overall,then they're perfectly happy to hear
(16:54):
you'll like request for thatrequest is in the word.
And so one of the obviously,like I said, the engineering graduate
is during his regs, qualification.
And then the finance graduateis looking to potentially do
some finance qualifications.
I at the moment,I'm not too sure what I want to do,
but I think speaking to other peoplewithin the major projects team,
(17:16):
there were definitely differentproject management
qualifications that they've doneand they would recommend me doing.
I think once I've had a bitmore experience to see the different areas
of the railway in my first yearor so, I'll probably try
and go towards doing some years,some of these qualifications, definitely.
But yeah, you got you got so much supportwith everything like manager wise,
(17:37):
mentor wise, early career managersfrom other people that have been graduates
in the railway in the past.
We have kind of a group chat for that.
And they're always like giving suggestionsof what we should do, sending different
like conferences and events thatthey think would be good for us to attend.
So there's so much support.
What sort of skills and qualitiesdo this industry look out for?
(18:01):
So I think
overall that's
probably is a bit of a hard questionto give a straight answer for.
But the graduates within TPAall have different strengths and qualities
for different areas because there'sso many different areas to the company,
there's so many different qualitiesthat will be useful in different areas,
(18:21):
like I said,but I think to be hard working overall,
the want to learn is the biggest thingbecause that's what you're there
for, you thereto give an like an a novel opinion.
And I think to be adaptableis probably one of the main qualities
because we're looking to GBRand it's going to be all new
(18:42):
to have your own new approach,
and to be kind of
naive in situationsis probably a great trait to have,
but to be able to kind of adaptto the massive changes
that are going to come in the nextfew years would be definitely a big one.
Yeah, definitely.
Do you know the logistics of like when
(19:05):
they, when applications open?
So I think so like I said last year
we, we had to apply byI think it was mid Feb.
I know that they've not advertised it now.
So I know we're at that stagenow when people would be panicking.
I think some of the apprenticeswere quite a bit later.
If there's a cohort for this year,I would imagine
(19:25):
it would be advertised on the TF, careerswebsite within the next few months,
if not at some, any time between February.
I'm not sure how late, but if you just.
Yeah, if you just keepchecking the website, I'm sure that would
be, advertised strongly on LinkedInand everything that's always advertised.
(19:47):
Yeah. Brilliant.
And, you know,
if there's going to be three grad schemesagain going forward, I'm not too sure.
I think it basicallythe way it worked for us
was that differentareas of the company were given
the opportunity to kind of askfor a graduate like they wanted.
They expressed interestin wanting a graduate.
So it just dependswhich areas of the business want to ask
(20:07):
for a graduate again?
Whether they have the supportwithin the team to be able to,
help you learn and develop?
I don't think there's a specific number.
It may be two, it may be three, 4 or 5,but I would imagine
it would be more than one.
Just to make sure that there's a bitof a group of people to apply together.
Yeah.
And you're glad that you applied?
(20:28):
Yes, definitely. Definitely.
Yeah.
I think,I didn't know where I was going to go.
I was down the psychology route, stuckin that healthcare kind of
this is where I'm going.
And I had to completely when I was like,I've got a new job.
I told my friends they were like,what are you doing?
Tell them. And like,I thought you were in healthcare.
I thought you were doing psychology.And I'm like, yeah, a complete switch up.
(20:49):
But it's been definitely for the best.Yeah.
And really highlights transferable skills.
Yeah.
And like,practically like exactly what that means.
Yeah.How transferable this skills. Exactly.
Like when I went into the interview,that's just what I tried
to make a lot of my points towards saying,
I know thatI don't have this knowledge in this area,
but I have knowledge in this areawhich is transferable.
(21:12):
So then the customer experiencein the hospital, it's the patient
on the railway, it's the passenger like I
it was you were able to kind of transfer,
like you said, the skills and knowledgeto have that approach.
And at the end of the daythe railway is customer focused,
healthcare is patient focused.
So it's the same kind of goalat the end of it.
(21:35):
Yeah, definitely.
I suppose because it's TransPennineexpress, because we're in the North.
This is a northern opportunity. Yeah.
I think
office is obviously literallyaround the corner in Manchester,
but there are lots of offices within.
There's ones in York,there's ones in Leeds,
(21:55):
Liverpool, lots of different offices.
So it's all in the North.
I think there's the opportunityfor hybrid working as well.
So we are allowed to work from homea few, a couple of days a week.
So I think
one of the graduates commutesquite a long way.
Others have have moved to Manchesterfor the, for the job.
But that as long as you canget to Manchester however many days a week
(22:18):
then yeah it's a, it's own, it'sa northern opportunity.
Yeah. Yeah. For Manchester's lovely.
It's it's a great,a great place to be isn't it.
Great. Well thank you.
Thank you so much for your timetoday. Thank you very much.
Popular Podcasts
Betrayal Weekly
Betrayal Weekly is back for a new season. Every Thursday, Betrayal Weekly shares first-hand accounts of broken trust, shocking deceptions, and the trail of destruction they leave behind. Hosted by Andrea Gunning, this weekly ongoing series digs into real-life stories of betrayal and the aftermath. From stories of double lives to dark discoveries, these are cautionary tales and accounts of resilience against all odds. From the producers of the critically acclaimed Betrayal series, Betrayal Weekly drops new episodes every Thursday. If you would like to share your story, you can reach out to the Betrayal Team by emailing them at betrayalpod@gmail.com and follow us on Instagram at @betrayalpod and @glasspodcasts. Please join our Substack for additional exclusive content, curated book recommendations, and community discussions. Sign up FREE by clicking this link Beyond Betrayal Substack. Join our community dedicated to truth, resilience, and healing. Your voice matters! Be a part of our Betrayal journey on Substack.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com