Irish Rail recruiting for the OEM Engineering Apprenticeship.

Irish Rail, State-owned operator of the national railway network of Ireland are one of the latest companies to partner with the OEM Engineering Apprenticeship.

Established in 1987 Irish Rail, a subsidiary of Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ), operates all internal InterCity, Commuter, DART and freight railway services in the Republic of Ireland. The company employs approximately 4000 people and carried a total of 35.8m passengers in 2022. Irish Rail already employ approximately 35 apprentices each year in the areas of Heavy Machine Mechanic, Electrician and Fitter.

Speaking of the recent partnership, Conor Doolan, Apprenticeship Development Executive with Irish Rail said,

“The railway is a specialised industry and as an organisation the OEM Apprenticeship is ideally suited to our industry as it covers elements of both mechanical and electrical.

I had the pleasure of a site visit to Monaghan Institute, where we seen first-hand the fantastic facilities and work being carried out by the OEM team.

We will be looking to recruit a minimum of eight OEM Technicians in 2023 with this number increasing in 2024 and so on.

The Work that is carried out in both the CME maintenance Depot facilities and in our Telecoms department is ideally suited to the OEM apprenticeship and we are excited to partner up with both Monaghan (CMETB) and Limerick (LCETB) who offer this apprenticeship.

With the OEM Apprenticeship only being 3 years rather than 4, it means we can produce highly skilled technicians in a shorter duration who can then join our existing workforce in upkeeping the various fleets and departments who are key in delivering the service we provide.”

Irish Rail have their own purpose-built training facility with state-of-the-art equipment and tooling to provide their apprentices with cutting edge skills in their chosen trade. Each apprentice is trained to a very high standard and participates both in internal training and external training.  The apprentice is rotated across the Irish Rail network to gain exposure to all elements of the business, ensuring that each apprentice will be afforded the best opportunities to become well-rounded, experienced and valuable employees.

The OEM Engineering Apprenticeship, managed by Cavan Monaghan Education & Training Board, is a three-year QQI Level 6 programme consisting of both on-the job and off-the-job blocks. The programme is suitable for those currently employed in OEM companies, school leavers, career switchers and mature applicants wishing to pursue a career as a qualified OEM Engineering Technician. On-the-job learning takes place within the company and the learner also attends off-the-job education and training on an annual 16-week block release basis at either the Monaghan Institute Campus or Raheen Training Centre in Limerick.

On completion of this programme, the learners will receive a QQI Level 6 Advanced Certificate in OEM Engineering and will be qualified as an OEM Engineering Technician, a widely sought-after skill set in the manufacturing, installation, servicing and commissioning sectors, both nationally and globally. Irish Rail recruitment for the OEM Apprenticeship will be live by the end of April.

Click the link below to register your interest in the OEM Engineering Apprenticeship.