I've not heard anything mate fingers crossed it'll be soon
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A career as a signaller
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Do you know if it’s face to face or online as I’ve read it could be either on here
I've not got a clue until we get a response off them mate like you said it could be either
Thanks Deenyweb for sharing. I start IST soon and enjoy reading what other signallers do through a shift and what they think of the role in general. Would be great to hear from others!
hi everyone passed video interview stage of the application process and received a email to say they are reviewing applications to invite to assessment centre. I understand it can be a long process lol but was just wondering how long others waited. Any help much appreciated
Thanks
Thanks
Congrats on making it this far! From my own experience, a few days. From others between a few days and a few weeks. Keep in mind that assessment centre stage is subject to availability and is not guaranteed - Good luck!
Thanks for the reply mate appreciate it! Fingers crossed then. Have you landed a roll yet locky if so how you finding it?
Not on IST in Ipswich by any chance are you? I start end of July and have IST in August too.
Not entirely sure what they have planned for us for the 3 weeks before IST, if anybody has any idea?
Well done mate excellent! Yeah I’m trying my best to read as much of the 688 pages as possible lol. All the best in your new role!
Think this is going to very much depend on the type of person you are / what motivates you .
I enjoy the Job to a degree , working in a lever frame box with interesting/unusual equipment , generally being in charge of how your own day goes and whilst managers do pop in and visit you this really is not a regular occurrance and they dont tend to stick around for that long . I tend not to get involved in the workplace politics or gossip/rumour mill so dont let that drag me down either . Quiet times when you get to make a fry up or read a book/newspaper/magazine on work time are sometihing a lot of people just don't get the opportunity to do in their work . It can also be rewarding depending on what your location is if you solve a problem , pull off an ambitious regulating move or whatever else it is that is specific to your location .
But I would also be lying if I didnt say that the shift pattern , money and decent pension / other benefits aren't also part of the appeal . And if you do want to chase the grades then there is serious money to be made if you want it .
Just for balance though these are some of the things I would say are drawbacks for me . Some days it can be monotonous , not getting a saturday off you want to spend with family or friends can be frustrating , if the job goes completely up the wall you can really feel like youve done a days graft with the amount of concentration you will be putting in, the responsibility is also quite serious and even a simple mistake can lead to serious implications . You will also get paid the same wether you are the most conscientious , best performing signaller you can be , or someone that just turns up to draw a wage doing the bare minimum they can which if you are conscientious can be a source of frustration as well especially if you spend 12 hours in the box next door to them watching them make a hash of things .
The good thing is , there is a lot of variety in signalling locations out there , from the small quiet single staffed boxes , to large ROC's / Powerboxes with numerous signallers on the operating floor at any one time and anything inbetween .But bear in mind eventually if you have enough years left to do and depending on your area of the country you will probably end up working in a ROC for at least some of your career which again is down to preference .
Unless its changed again in the last 6 months there is an introduction to signalling e learning to do which is timetabled for 2 weeks .
You will also be meeting your line manager during that period , being issued with Rulebooks and anything else you need . And hopefully going on some box visits .
There is also other generic company e learning that needs to be completed before you pass out in your first location , I did mine before IST as I didn't really want to be worrying myself with fire safety or manual handling e learning when I was at IST or learning my first box .
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Nah, my IST is in Perth. I've asked this thread a few times if anyone starts in Perth when I do, but no replies yet. Keep having to remind myself that not everyone who applies for/currently works at NW is on these forums
Muz has answered your question about the first 2-3 weeks before IST. Also great to hear Muz's take on the job as a whole. Cheers!Afternoon everyone - I am reading through past IST experiences and gather that it is quite intense. I live about 20 minutes drive from where I will be attending IST and was wondering how viable it would be to go home each night rather than stay at the hotel? My wife has just given birth to our second child and think during my 10 weeks IST, it might be hard for her to manage both children by herself. It feels like the general consensus is that its essential to stay at the hotel and revise for a few hours each night during IST.. Can anyone shed some further light on just how intense IST is? I know it's very subjective based on different peoples' learning habits etc..
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Hi everyone was just wondering how often signaller roles come up for Cardiff I’m in the process of awaiting interview, but I’ve been looking for a while and have only seen 2 in the last 12 months or so. Or is there more internal. Any help much appreciated.
Thanks
Thanks
It is very subjective, as you mentioned, but I think that if I'd not been able to bounce questions off people in the evening I'd have struggled.
Saying that, we had people on our course who just did their own thing in their hotel rooms and they passed fine.
Some weeks are easier than others and some are very intense.
If you're able to study in the evenings, get a decent sleep and get back to class for the next day you may be fine. There's a reason why you're encouraged to stay in the hotel though.
Also, some nights you'll be finished later and some mornings starting earlier depending on the sim rota.
The Difference
Member
I’ve just sent you a message mate.Nah, my IST is in Perth. I've asked this thread a few times if anyone starts in Perth when I do, but no replies yet. Keep having to remind myself that not everyone who applies for/currently works at NW is on these forums
Afternoon everyone - I am reading through past IST experiences and gather that it is quite intense. I live about 20 minutes drive from where I will be attending IST and was wondering how viable it would be to go home each night rather than stay at the hotel? My wife has just given birth to our second child and think during my 10 weeks IST, it might be hard for her to manage both children by herself. It feels like the general consensus is that its essential to stay at the hotel and revise for a few hours each night during IST.. Can anyone shed some further light on just how intense IST is? I know it's very subjective based on different peoples' learning habits etc..
Georgiahope1
Member
I asked about this in my interview as I am from York so would be very close to centre and they said it is beneficial and expected for you to stay at the hotel because you work as a team on evenings etc, they did say for example the lady who interviewed me went through signalling school and she went home one evening a week to see family!
SimplyLovely
Member
I live 30 minutes away from where I did IST and my manager still booked a hotel for me to stay at Sunday through Friday. It’s not so much travelling time that they are trying to cut down on, it’s at home distractions that could impact you giving the course your all.
If you live close to home there is nothing stopping you from going home to help out, but keep in mind that NR aren’t obligated to give you a second chance at the course if you fail. It’s up to your manager and if they find out that you were going home multiple times a week, would they think you were dedicated enough to warrant another chance?
I also imagine you would need to let them know if you weren’t planning on sleeping in the hotel, they probably won’t be keen spending money on something you aren’t using.
Thanks for your input, all. Think the best thing I can do is take it week by week, and if I feel like I am 'falling behind' I will make adjustments to negate that. I am not the type of person to slip without speaking up, so I'm comfortable that I'll keep myself level with the required standard throughout.. My wife understands what this means for us and is reassuring me that she will be fine. I think I am more concerned about her wellbeing than she is lol! I also like to have things like this planned meticulously
Good points. Will take these into account
There’s something great about the whole hotel room, learning environment, food sorted, no household responsibilities that I think helps. If I was at home I’d end up getting pulled around into various tasks and I’d have not been able to dedicate my time quite the way I did.
High Dyke
Established Member
I think the whole ethos has moved on since I did my IST, then again it was over twenty years ago. However, I travelled to the training school everyday. It's about 40 miles from where I live. I managed to focus on things throughout the course, but didn't / don't have distractions like children to disrupt learning.
The other side of being allowed to travel was that I missed some if the problems with the disruptive colleague on the course. The person was duly sacked. We'd already had one trainee fail due to the disruptive individual, and a few more of us were having issues during the course up to that point. Whilst the individual was disciplined on a harassment matter, they weren't much better at signalling trains.
As others have mentioned, it is about doing after class work like testing fellow trainees on what you've learnt at that point. Remember, managers have a vested interest in their trainees, but equally if the trainees truly want the job then they'll put in the hard yards to achieve that.
The other side of being allowed to travel was that I missed some if the problems with the disruptive colleague on the course. The person was duly sacked. We'd already had one trainee fail due to the disruptive individual, and a few more of us were having issues during the course up to that point. Whilst the individual was disciplined on a harassment matter, they weren't much better at signalling trains.
As others have mentioned, it is about doing after class work like testing fellow trainees on what you've learnt at that point. Remember, managers have a vested interest in their trainees, but equally if the trainees truly want the job then they'll put in the hard yards to achieve that.
Each person's situation is different so effectively it comes down to you and how learn and how you can manage the situation.Nah, my IST is in Perth. I've asked this thread a few times if anyone starts in Perth when I do, but no replies yet. Keep having to remind myself that not everyone who applies for/currently works at NW is on these forums
Afternoon everyone - I am reading through past IST experiences and gather that it is quite intense. I live about 20 minutes drive from where I will be attending IST and was wondering how viable it would be to go home each night rather than stay at the hotel? My wife has just given birth to our second child and think during my 10 weeks IST, it might be hard for her to manage both children by herself. It feels like the general consensus is that its essential to stay at the hotel and revise for a few hours each night during IST.. Can anyone shed some further light on just how intense IST is? I know it's very subjective based on different peoples' learning habits etc..
The reason for the hotel is so you don't have the distractions of home life interfering with your ability to study, be that by yourself or as a group so you can bounce questions off each other. It's also so you can start early or stay late with your SIM group (depending on how SIM groups are rotated). The ability to have most things taken care for you and not have to worry too much about family life does take a load of the mind from my experience.
If you think you manage the distractions and manage studying at home by yourself then I don't think there would be a problem.
I absolutely agree and think it's best the hotel is utilised fully. At least in my situation. I'm good at managing distractions but would hate to jeopardise this opportunity. So I'm going to play it safe and stay at the hotel Mon-Fri, with weekends to decompress.
Iddybiddy05
Member
Quite often….their very under staffed.
However the jobs will tend to be lower grade (G2 talent pool) or if you’re lucky a grade 4. There was a grade 7 advert a few weeks ago, but that’ll be filed internally as they’ve been burnt by off the street grade 7 trainees.
Signaller2020
Member
I saw the G7 went external following the internal closing date .. is this likely due to lack of interest from internal employees?