Over the next 12 months, Northern is seeking to expand its workforce by recruiting 74 new train conductors to be based at depots in Greater Manchester and Yorkshire.

To widen the range of applicants, Northern is also looking for applications from anyone who is at a career crossroads.

Full training will be provided through an apprenticeship at Northern’s academies in Leeds and Manchester city centres, which means that applicants need to have no previous experience of the rail industry.

In Greater Manchester, applicants will be based at Manchester Piccadilly or Manchester Victoria, while in Yorkshire they will be based at Doncaster, Leeds, Skipton or York. The apprenticeship training will last twelve months with an initial training period of twelve.

Once training has been completed and applicants are fully qualified as conductors, the salary is £29,000 and comes with benefits including free train travel.

Northern is already actively recruiting for the 74 apprenticeships, but there will be regular opportunities to apply as applications will be open between now and August next year.

Further information about the apprenticeships and details of how to register for job alerts can be found online at www.northernrailway.co.uk/careers.

Northern is not restricting its recruitment to conductors, as it has recently recruited 16 engineering apprenticeships, and a similar number last year.

Last year, Ofsted officially recognised Northern as a ‘Main Provider’ of apprenticeships, which enables the company to offer its industry-leading training services to other train operators and rail industry organisations.

Lisa Leighton, people director for Northern, said: “The days when apprenticeships were just for school or college leavers are long gone – but that perception remains and it can be a barrier to more experienced people putting in an application.

“Lots of jobs have transferable skills that the rail industry can benefit from, so anyone that fancies taking their career in a completely fresh direction should give it a go.

“Some of the people working on-board our trains today started their career in very different arenas, from the prison service and cabin crew to social care and financial services.

“No one should think the railway ‘isn’t for them’ – it’s an industry with much to offer.”