Railway systems in the UK and internationally are aging with the need for the introduction of new infrastructure, technologies, and practices, to ensure that they are sustainable. Thus providing local, national, and international socio-economic benefits for the future. The combination of these factors requires you, as 21st century railway engineers, to have a systems approach to the construction, operation, and management of the railway, as highlighted by the Williams-Shapps plan for Rail (DfT, 2021) and the Network Rail Asset Management Policy (Network Rail, 2018).
To achieve this aim, the LSBU L6 BEng (Hons) Rail & Rail Systems Senior Engineering (Apprenticeship) has been developed based on discussions with the railway industry and its supply chain. Enabling our course to be structured around you and your roles within industry, especially disciplinary interests such as:
Throughout the course, as well as being taught key topics you are encouraged to share your experience and knowledge so that all you can engage in peer learning, development, and discussion. Through this approach, you will broaden your learning opportunities to wider appropriate topics. Enabling you to identify necessary practices, processes, and the employment of technology within the railway industry and its supply chain.
Modules within the course employ real-life railway examples such as Railway Accident Investigation Branch Reports, that provide information on incidents which have occurred. Providing you with core learning points applicable to the railway industry and its stakeholders, so you can see the application of your learning to solving real-life problems.
Given you will be working full-time, potentially with many years outside of education, and your professional need for a variety of skills, such as presentations, authoring reports, and use of software, our course is 100% coursework. Empowering you to develop theoretical and practical skills for the present and future, while at the same time enabling you to prepare for your EPA, which consists of a report, presentation, and interview.
ModePart-time | Duration4 years + EPA | Start dateSeptember | Application code5850 | Application method Direct to LSBU |
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To be considered for entry to the first year of this course applicants will be required to have the following qualifications:
L4 you will be considered for an advanced entry with benefit of few exemptions to modules already covered and similar in nature and content;
Apprentices who have successfully passed the L5 Apprenticeship in Rail & Rail Systems Engineering, will be able to apply for a ‘top up’ on a subsequent final year of the L6 (BEng (Hons), after completion of the L5, to achieve their degree.
We welcome qualifications from around the world.
Applicants may be considered for entry to the second year of the course with the following qualifications. Applicants will normally be interviewed and may be required to sit a Mathematics test to ensure their preparedness for direct entry.
RPEL may be considered in determining the entry requirements for candidates with relevant work experience but cannot replace the requirement for formal qualifications in Mathematics.
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The cost of the apprenticeship is paid fully by the employer (sometimes part funded by the government) through apprenticeship levy. The apprenticeship levy is a pot of money some companies pay into, which all businesses have access to spend on the training costs of apprenticeships. Companies fall into two categories: levy-payers (who pay into the pot) and non-levy payers (who do not). You can find out more in our Levy and Funding section, specifically for employers
The apprentice does not contribute toward the cost of study.
Apprenticeship standards are all assigned a funding band by the Government – these funding bands are the maximum amount the Government will fund via the levy towards a given apprenticeship standard. There are currently 30 funding bands ranging from £1,000 to £27,000.
Employers with less than 50 staff sending an apprentice aged 16-18 will have 100% of the training costs paid by the government. All employers who employ an apprentice aged 16-18 on the first day of teaching will receive a £1,000 incentive from the government. You can find out more in our Levy and Funding section, specifically for employers.
You can find out the funding band for an Apprenticeship Standard on the Government website. To find out how much we are charging, please get in touch with us at apprenticeships@lsbu.ac.uk
Some modules include field trips and site visits. These are organised by the division and you are required to contribute towards the cost. If there are any field trips or any course visits as part of your learning, we will let you know in suitable time.
Mode Part-time | Duration 4 years + EPA | Start date September | Application code 5850 | Application method Direct to LSBU |
An Apprenticeship Standard is comprised of a programme of study, an End Point Assessment and on-the-job learning. This means that in addition to meeting academic requirements, you’ll need to be employed in a role related to your apprenticeship. The process of applying depends on whether you have an employer to sponsor (and support) you.
If you are employed and your employer has confirmed, they will support your apprenticeship:
You are welcome to submit an application via our application system. You’ll need to provide details of your employment/employer as part of the application. You’ll also need to ensure you and your employer meet the requirements – find out who can be an apprentice to see if you meet the entry requirements and employer commitments to find out more about your employer’s role.
If you are not employed:
If you’re a prospective apprentice, you can find out more about who can be an apprentice on our student pages.
If you’re an employer, you can find information about the employer commitments and further related information on the related pages for business.
See our admissions policy 1.0 MB and complaints policy 516.0 KB.
There are steps the apprentices, the employer and the University need to complete before you start your course. Take a look at the steps to be completed in the Enrolment section. Employers may also like to look at our steps to offering an apprenticeship.
By completing the apprenticeship route, you will have the advantage of having real-world work experience, working in a role related to your area of study, as well as gaining an appropriate Degree. Giving you a competitive edge among other graduates when you complete your apprenticeship standard.
During your studies – and for two years after you graduate – you’ll have access to our Employability Service, who can help you develop your skills through the Careers Gym workshops and presentations. Our JobShop advisers support you and graduates with finding the right job for them.
We are University of the Year for Graduate Employment - The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2018.
Through undertaking this course, you will not only gain essential technical skills, but also a systems knowledge of the railway, contributing to the safe, time, and cost effective operation of the railway for the future, as required by the Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail (DfT, 2021). Achieved at:
Indicative job titles at L6 can include:
Successful completion of the L6 BEng (Hons) Rail & Rail Systems Engineering Course, and its related EPA, will enable you to apply to undertake the L7 Rail & Rail Systems Engineering (Apprenticeship), currently in development, with a launch date of September 2024
The course has stakeholders from across the railway industry and its supply chain, including Network Rail, Transport for London, WSP, Thales, and Siemens. Regular discussions are held with our stakeholder representatives, to ensure that we are delivering appropriate skills and knowledge to you for application within your industry roles.
Furthermore, specialists from these organisations, and other industry partners, such as HS2, are invited to share with you their career paths, their experiences of different roles within the industry, and to provide you with knowledge that are essential to you.
The course has been designed to meet Institute of Engineer and Technology (IET) accreditation, one of the world’s leading professional societies for engineers and technicians. The course will seek to be accredited in 2023.
Within the course shared thinking and discussion is encouraged, as appropriate, to enable a collective learning experience and to develop peer support, which also provides essential skills to achieve railway industry and supply chain needs (e.g., working collaboratively).
Teaching of the course includes:
To encourage you to understand the application of learning to your day-to-day roles, teaching includes:
qualitative reasoning as to why topics are applicable to the railway industry
An essential part of the course is you undertaking your own self-learning. Thus facilitating enhancement of your knowledge of topics discussed in lectures, whilst you build a greater appreciation of application of that learning to the railway industry. This can be achieved by using the reading lists within the VLE or through your researching related materials.
Between Blocks, touchpoints are held to enable you to ask your module leaders for further clarification of topics taught or to expand. While these are voluntary, you are encouraged to attend.
Undertaking a degree can be challenging, but it is worthwhile for your career and personal esteem. To help you undertake the apprenticeship, you must have discussed with your line manager how the off-the-job 6 hours a week training commitment will be met.
This is not an optional commitment and will be tracked throughout the programme, so you should be clear as to how you and your employer will be able to accommodate this requirement. If you need support in relation to this, any member of the programme faculty will be happy to help.