A train operator is looking to recruit up to 280 new drivers and conductors across the North of England in 2023.

Northern is looking for new recruits to bolster its workforce as other team members retire, earn promotions or move on to another career outside of the company.

The closest location to East Lancashire that Northern are looking for drivers and conductors to be based at is Skipton, North Yorkshire.

Driver roles are also being sought in Carlisle, Darlington, Hull, Leeds, Newcastle, Sheffield, and York, and come with a starting salary of £23,000 a year, rising to £54,500 once fully qualified.

Conductor roles are also based in Carlisle, Doncaster, Harrogate, Huddersfield, Hull, Leeds, Middlesbrough, Newcastle, Sheffield and York, with a starting salary of £22,000, rising to £29,000 once fully qualified.

Both roles require no previous rail experience, will full training provided at Northern’s academies in Leeds and Manchester.

Tricia Williams, chief operating officer at Northern, said: “These are fantastic roles for anyone passionate about helping connect people and places across the region.

“We’ll be recruiting throughout the year – so people should register for job alerts on our website.”

Northern are actively encouraging women to apply as part of a push to improve the male-female balance in its workforce, and are also seeking to attract more applicants form underrepresented ethnicities.

Williams added: “The rail industry has made great strides in many areas of diversity in recent years – but there is still much to be done.

“Drivers and conductors represent a huge proportion of our workforce – if we can attract more people from a wider range of ethnicities and women into these roles, that’ll make a real difference.”

Central to their plan is to attract the best and brightest candidates from other sectors who had not previously considered a railway career, having had recruits with interesting career histories in their 2021/22 intake.

Williams said: “Some of the people at the control of our trains today started their career in the prison service, as cabin crew, as social workers, in a veterinary practice and at least one was a wedding planner.

“No-one should think either of these roles isn’t for them – the railway has much to offer.”