National Apprenticeship Week 2025: Meet our engineering apprentices

To celebrate National Apprenticeship Week, 10 - 16 February 2025, we're sharing the stories of some of our engineering apprentices:

Jack Callaway, fourth year apprentice

Lifelong bus enthusiast Jack Callaway says landing his engineering apprenticeship was a dream come true. Jack has been fascinated by buses since he was a child when his family relied on the bus network to get around. 

Jack says: “I’ve always been passionate about buses so I jumped at the chance to apply for an apprenticeship at Go North East. I was delighted when I found out my application had been accepted.

“I collect model buses, including replicas of Go North East buses, and during my apprenticeship I’ve had the chance to maintain and drive the real-life version of these models which is a totally surreal experience for a bus enthusiast like me.”

Now only a few weeks away from finishing his four-year apprenticeship in mechanical and electrical engineering, Jack is looking forward to taking up a full-time job at Go North East. 

Jack says: “I’d recommend anyone interested in training to be an engineer to consider an apprenticeship at Go North East, whether you’re a bus enthusiast or not.

“It’s a great place to learn – everyone is so supportive and I’ve gained so many practical skills to kickstart my engineering career.”

Ross Martin, first year apprentice

“I applied for an apprenticeship after my university engineering course was cancelled due to a lack of funding.  

“I didn’t know much about Go North East or the bus industry when I applied but I’ve really enjoyed my apprenticeship so far.  

“Every six weeks, we spend a week at college at the Glasgow Training Group. The college specialises in apprenticeships in the automotive industry so it’s great to have the opportunity to study there then put what I’ve learnt into practice when we come back to the workshop.” 

Lewis Couley, first year apprentice

“I started my apprenticeship back in September and studied at college for two years before I applied for my apprenticeship.

“Before I started my apprenticeship, I thought it might be an intimidating environment where I would be expected to work everything out on my own. I couldn’t have been more wrong – everyone in the engineering team has been so friendly and very supportive whilst I've been learning new skills.” 

Troy Keaning

“I’ve loved buses since I was a child and I always wanted a career with Go North East. I initially started working on cars but jumped at the chance to apply for an apprenticeship at Go North East when the opportunity came up. 

“I’ve really enjoyed my apprenticeship so far. We get to work within different teams within the engineering department so you never get bored and it helps you decide which type of engineering you’d like to specialise in after your apprenticeship.

“I’ve also had the chance to work on the National Express coaches based at the Riverside depot, which has been a brilliant learning experience as coaches are a lot different our Go North East buses.” 

Interested in joining the team? We plan to recruit engineering apprentices later in the year. Qualified engineers can apply for roles on our careers page.