Tyne Tunnels works to shape young people's futures with new apprenticeships

Morgan Reynolds-Weedy and James Brown (front) with Chris Ward and Shaun Simmons from TT2 Limited (back).

TT2 Limited, the operators of the tunnels, is supporting the careers of young people in the region by employing apprentices in its marketing and data analysis departments.

Morgan Reynolds-Weedy has taken up a 13-month digital marketing apprenticeship, while James Brown 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, who is 22, applied for the apprenticeship after deciding to change career from studying English language and literature at university.

She now manages the Tyne Tunnels social media pages – after seeing the vacancy advertised there herself.

She is also working on the Elmer’s Great North Parade project, which will see a specially commissioned elephant statue on TT2 Limited’s grounds for 9 weeks.

Morgan 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.”

James, 19, 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.ceships.

James, who hailed the apprenticeship as ‘the best decision he ever made’, added: “Working five 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.”

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: “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.”