TT2 Limited, the operators of the Tyne Tunnels, is supporting the careers of young people in the region by employing apprentices in its marketing and data analysis departments.
Morgan Reynolds-Weedy (22) has taken up a 13-month digital marketing apprenticeship, while James Brown (19) joins the team as a data analyst apprentice for 18 months. At the end of their period of working with TT2, Morgan will achieve a level 3 qualification, and James will achieve three level 4 certificates.
Morgan applied for the apprenticeship after deciding to change career from studying English language and literature at university, and now manages the Tyne Tunnels social media pages. She is also working extensively on the Elmer’s Great North Parade project, which will see a specially commissioned elephant statue on TT2 Limited’s grounds for nine weeks. She is also attending study sessions with Code Academy.
James chose the apprenticeship route over university because he was interested in developing new skills while earning a salary. In his role, he gathers data about traffic volume, travel times, and payment methods, and uses these statistics to help the data analysis team to make improvements for the customers long term. His progress is being monitored by QA Apprenticeships.
Morgan Reynolds-Weedy said: “I really enjoy having different tasks every day, it never gets boring and I always have something to do. I like looking at the analytics and gaining insight on the power of social media. I actually found the apprenticeship on social media, as it was advertised on Facebook, so its good to now be working on it myself.”
James Brown said: “Working 5 days a week, enjoying it and receiving very good training and also a good salary is a lot more rewarding when you get to the weekend. Doing an apprenticeship was the best decision I’ve ever made, and I’d like to thank the team at TT2 Limited for all their help so far.”
TT2 Limited has supported local apprenticeship programmes and vocational training for many years, including employing the first candidates in the UK to achieve the Diploma in Road Tunnel Operations, awarded by the Road Tunnels Association.
Phil Smith, CEO of TT2 Limited, said: “TT2 Limited is committed to providing the best possible service for its customers, and as a result, we have experienced a period of growth in our data analysis and marketing departments. It is essential that we get the ‘behind the scenes’ work right so that our customers reap the benefits at the front end.
“We were given the opportunity to work with some excellent apprenticeship providers to bring some dynamic and hard-working young people into areas where you need digital knowledge and experience, and even in the short time they have been here, they have excelled.
“I’m very excited to see how Morgan, James, and any future apprentices we take on will help us to continue moving forward with our digital initiatives and further improving our online services for the customers.”