Aspire Apprentice

**Salary £30K**

**Who are we?**

GWR is the proud custodian of Brunel's railway - one of the most prestigious networks in the world. We have some of the newest trains in the country and exciting plans to extend our services. With more than one hundred million passenger journeys each year, we carry people to over 275 stations in the South West, from Cornwall and South Wales to London, passing through beautiful country and some of the UK's top tourist destinations.

We are transforming the way people think about train travel, empowering our team of over 6,000 people from all different backgrounds to make it a great experience for our customers. Together, we will revalue rail as a very special way to travel - relaxing, fast, efficient, friendly and fun.

**About the job**

The GWR Aspire management apprenticeship scheme offers a unique learning experience designed to develop the broad range of skills and competencies needed to effectively manage within a complex, modern and customer focused environment.

The Finance department spans several key business functions including:

- Financial planning, reporting and budgeting.
- Financial control and audit functions.
- Treasury and accounts payable processes.
- Retail accounting processes.

During the 24-month programme you will experience a wide range of key business areas and processes spanning the above functions which will give you an insight into Finance within GWR. With support from our experienced colleagues, our academic partners and an allocated mentor, you will play an important role in assisting us manage the finances for an area of our business. This will include processing invoices and payments, raising sales orders, accruals and prepayments, analysing data and trends, producing results for review at period end meetings and highlighting risks, controls and opportunities.

As the industry approaches a period of change as Great British Railways, this is a unique opportunity to develop an understanding and experience of finances of a train operating company, whilst gaining an accounting qualification.

Developed in partnership with Ofsted Outstanding Exeter College, as part of the apprenticeship, you will undertake the Level 3 Assistant Accountant apprenticeship qualification. The apprenticeship will be delivered through face-to-face weekly sessions at Exeter College alongside regular reviews with your skills officer. Tutors from Exeter College will work with you throughout the programme to prepare you for the End Point Assessment.

As part of the programme you will undertake a week long team building event, providing an opportunity to learn new skills in a challenging environment.

Who are you? First and foremost, you'll have a willingness and dedication to learn, coupled with a determination to succeed. You'll be a great communicator and be able to work in a team or alone. Practically, you'll be able to change and adapt with the ability to work in a fast-paced environment. Ideally you will have GCSEs (or equivalent) in English and Maths. Colleagues without these qualifications will need to achieve Functional Skills Level 2 English and/or Maths prior to taking the End Point Assessment. Exeter College will support with this as required.

Flexibility is essential in this role, as you will be required to work at various locations around our network. The finance team is based in Swindon so your time will be split between Swindon, Exeter and other GWR locations.

The start date for this Aspire Apprenticeship is March 2025.

**The Reward**

As well as a great team environment and comprehensive training, all GWR colleagues enjoy a range of benefits including on-going development, defined benefit pension scheme, free rail travel across the GWR network for you and your family, company-sponsored health care plan, discounted shopping and gym membership and an employee assistance programme.

We value our differences such as age, gender, LGBTQIA+, ethnicity, religion, and disability. We maintain a zero tolerance towards any form of prejudice towards our colleagues, customers, and future talent.

We celebrate and encourage diversity of thought, progressive ways of working and seeing all our colleagues grow and thrive.

We review all roles and job descriptions to ensure they are accessible and, where possible, we support and provide flexible working options; we recommend that you refer to each vacancy description for further details.

INGWR