Mother qualifies as train driver after 10-year career break
A mother who qualified as a train driver after taking 10 years out of work to care for her daughter is encouraging others not to be set back by a career break.
Leigh Santamaria, 53, found her new career through the help of Southern Rail and the Career Returners scheme.
She said: “I was thrilled when I passed my final assessment and got my driver’s key at the end of 2024, because all my hard work had finally paid off.
“I loved getting in the driver’s cab and learning the routes under the supervision of an instructor and now I’m heading out on the network for real.”
Ms Santamaria’s current routes on Southern Rail run from London to East Croydon and East Grinstead to London.
She said: “I’ve just started learning the London to Epsom Downs line, which is very exciting!”
Career Returners is a coaching and consulting programme targeted at people who have been on an extended career break and are looking to get back to work.
Ms Santamaria, who lives near Longfield in Kent, previously worked as a legal PA, but chose to leave her career to support her daughter.
She said: “I was out of work for 10 years to look after my daughter, who has significant learning difficulties.
“She is very vulnerable and will probably have to live with me for the rest of her life, so it felt right to pause my career and focus all my energy on her.
“While I was caring for my daughter, I studied accountancy and qualified in 2021, but after months of job applications I still hadn’t secured a job.”
After branching out to search for careers in different industries, an advert on social media featuring a female train driver caught her eye.
Ms Santamaria said: “I was led to the Career Returners website, where I found lots of different opportunities on offer, including vacancies for trainee train drivers. It sounded perfect so I applied for the role and the rest is history!”
After joining up in 2023, Ms Santamaria said the move back into work was a “huge change”.
She said: “I’d been out of the loop for so long. But, the support I received through the Returners programme was invaluable, which made the back to work transition so much easier.
“I was able to balance my studying and caring thanks to my mum and the brilliant day support my daughter receives from her specialist School.
“I’m grateful to GTR and Career Returners because I can give my daughter the life she deserves, which means the world to me.”
To find out more about the Career Returners programme, follow this link.
Pictured top: Leigh Santamaria’s current routes on Southern Rail run from London to East Croydon (Picture: Southern Rail)