ARRIVA Trains Wales has taken on a new apprentice from Barry to keep the business on track for success.

Joining forces with Acorn’s specialist learning and development division, Arriva Trains are helping recruit and train 10 new apprentices as part of its customer service team.

Barry apprentice Alexis Powell, 23, said: “It’s really interesting and exciting. I am doing new and different things every day.

"I was attracted to the scheme because of the opportunity to learn a specialism within the company and the fact that by completing the apprenticeship I would gain an NVQ in Business Administration.

“Being in the train planning department is challenging as there is a lot of information to learn and also a lot of elements that I will only pick up with experience. The most fun part is going out and about and meeting various people within the company.”

Steve Badock, Train Planning and Diagramming Manager, said: “Alexis has settled in really well and has quickly embraced the many varied aspects of train planning.

“As well as having to gain an understanding of the various processes that we work to, she has also travelled around our network to learn more about signalling, track layouts and the geography of our services.”