Liam Wakefield played football for Doncaster Rovers from the age of 12 to 21. Now 23, he still plays elsewhere part-time, but knew he had to retrain in a new field to guarantee a lifelong career, off the pitch.
He has decided to secure his long-term prospects by signing up to a higher-level apprenticeship at the new National College for High Speed Rail in Doncaster.
Wakefield says: “I’ve seen the new college under construction every day over the past year while on my way to training. The building took my interest and when I came here and saw it, I knew I had to be part of it.
“The training I’m doing here is giving me a route towards a long-term career in engineering and hopefully I’ll be able to contribute my skills to a huge national infrastructure project such as High Speed 2. The good news is that I can also fit in the football part-time.”
The Doncaster Locomotive and Carriage Building Works opened in the town in 1853 and lasted for more than 150 years, giving the world the Flying Scotsman and Mallard, the original high-speed trains.
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He adds: “Being a Doncaster lad, I’m really proud to have this facility on my doorstep. I’ve seen how the town has developed over the past few years and I know all about its railway history so having the National College for High Speed Rail here is only going to make things better and improve the place even more.”
“I’ve loved my career in football but now I want to focus my efforts on having a long-term, well-paid career helping to build the next generation of rail infrastructure that Britain needs.”
After leaving school at 16, with GCSEs at A and B grade in maths, science and English, Wakefield joined Doncaster Rovers’ youth team and was awarded an apprenticeship in sport and active leisure, from 16 to 18. Then he became a professional footballer.
He is studying for a certificate of higher education in high-speed rail and infrastructure and will switch to a higher apprenticeship next month, while playing part-time for Boston United. Eventually he would like to secure a managerial position in technical engineering.
He says: “The work I’m training for now is definitely more important than football. It’s a lifelong career that I’m working towards; it’s all about my future and that takes priority now — until I retire basically.
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“It’s massively important for Britain to train more engineers. There are a lot of young people who need to be given a chance. You’ve got to start with the younger generation to create a positive future for the country and if people show the right attitude, they should be the right kind of person for the task.
“For those who are a similar age and thinking about whether this could be right for them, I would say that it doesn’t matter about your level of education and it’s really all about your attitude. If you want to succeed, you absolutely will.”
To produce The Times Guide to Higher & Degree Apprenticeships the independent market research company High Fliers Research contacted more than 250 employers of school-leavers, graduates and young professionals during December 2017.
The research identified how many higher or degree apprentices each organisation recruited in the previous 12 months on courses that lead to level 4 qualifications or above.
Employers who offer training schemes outside the apprenticeship frameworks: by sponsoring places on existing undergraduate courses; providing their own degree courses at university; or through programmes leading to professional qualifications were included.
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Advanced or intermediate apprenticeships aimed at 16-plus school-leavers, which lead to level 2 or 3 qualifications, have not been included. The 50 organisations that recruited the most sixth-form school-leavers for higher or degree apprenticeships, or comparable schemes, took on more than 4,600 trainees in 2017.