The journey of Lewis Hamilton was highlighted during Scottish Apprenticeship Week.
Network Rail has been helping a rising railway engineer power through an apprenticeship at its training centre in East Kilbride.
The journey of Lewis Hamilton and the success of the programme were highlighted during Scottish Apprenticeship Week.
After joining the programme in 2025, Lewis began his career gaining hands‑on experience at the training centre in East Kilbride. This includes changing rails, changing sleepers as well as patrolling and inspecting for damage.
He joined the apprentice programme at the age of 29 after deciding his previous career wasn’t going the way he wanted.
One year on, the apprentice is racing through the programme and gearing up for an exciting career as a valued railway engineer.
Now in his second year of training, he said: “I didn’t see myself in the railway and sometimes thought it was a wee bit late for me to start retraining but it has been really good and it’s a role I’m happy to be in.”
And he added: “Since last year, I’m a lot more comfortable and confident. I know what’s expected of me day to day.
“Being trusted with tasks has been one of my proudest moments so far. If we’re on a big job it gets split up into tasks, and the person supervising will be there to support me but let me know that I’m running the show and trusting me to get the job done safely. It feels good.
“If you’re willing to learn, put the effort in and work safely, I think it’s one of the best opportunities you can have. You get great experience and training, and you get a career for life that you can continue to build on.”
Lewis’s journey is just one of many from people who’ve chosen to begin their career with Scotland’s Railway.
Network Rail is currently searching for Scotland’s next generation of railway engineers with 26 opportunities available on the 2026 SCQF Level 7 Engineering Apprenticeship.
This Scottish Apprenticeship Week, the organisation is inviting people of all ages and backgrounds to discover how an apprenticeship could be the start of their journey too.
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Ross McNab, early careers manager at Network Rail, said: “Our apprenticeship programme provides a strong, structured pathway into engineering while giving people the chance to contribute to the safe and reliable running of Scotland’s Railway.
“We take great pride in supporting apprentices as they develop their skills, build their confidence and take on meaningful responsibility across our network.”
Interested candidates can apply now on Network Rail’s website.
Successful candidates will help look after nearly 3000 miles of track, over 14,000 bridges, and keep around 2500 trains moving through the country every day.
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