Press Release – Rail Minister and Ashford MP Open New Careers and Skills Hub
- 11/07/2025
- Posted by: Sojan Joseph MP
- Category: Press Releases
Today (11th July 2025) the Rail Minister, Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill and Ashford MP, Sojan Joseph officially opened Southeastern Rail’s new Careers and Skills Hub.
The Hub will be used as a facility to train/retrain young people, veterans, and those looking to enter the workforce. It will be used to offer career guidance, training resources, and apprenticeship opportunities, while also supporting recruitment across roles including drivers, engineers, and customer-facing colleagues. It is situated in Ashford’s Connect 38, an 80,500 sq ft office, restaurant and retail space (Kent’s largest office building to be built over the past decade) and has been highlighted as a potential centre for growth, job creation, and skills development in Kent and the wider South East.
Southeastern Rail is backing the Government’s skills and employability agenda. An initiative to drive up skills to boost growth in local economies. Southeastern Rail – one of the already publicly owned rail operators – has 500 apprentices currently developing their careers and achieving Gold Accreditation from Investors in People for Wellbeing and Apprenticeships.
Quotes
Sojan Joseph, the Member for Ashford, Hawkinge, and the Villages stated:
“Skills Hubs like the one at Connect 38 are fantastic for generating local economic growth and it is a fantastic resource to have in Ashford.
I am incredibly pleased that Southeastern Rail are choosing to use it as a facility to train their workforce, bring new skills to Ashford, and I thank the Minister for his show of support for the imitative.”
Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill, Minister for Rail Stated:
“Under public ownership, Southeastern is making real changes that not only improve the lives of passengers but staff and local communities too. This is exactly what we want to see operators doing, offering skills and training to ensure their workforce is open to everyone, from school-leavers to career-changers to veterans.
Through this investment, we will see more and more skilled, rewarding careers in the rail industry open up as Connect 38 breaks down barriers to opportunity, drives economic growth and supports the Government’s Plan for Change. I’m grateful to Sojan Joseph for all his efforts in supporting this work and standing up for his constituents.”
ENDS
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