How hard is it to get in to a Level 3 Rail Engineering Technician Apprenticeship with Network Rail?

[NK7]

How hard is it to get in to a network rail apprenticeship? Has anyone here done apprenticeship with them?

Im in the last stage which is the assessment centre to give a 10 minute presentation.

The nerves are getting to me.

 

[I_am_Nobody]

I applied last month, and failed at the online assessments/video interview. I then had an email a few days ago saying that they were reassessing my application and would be in touch again soon... so I am wondering (based on something someone I know who works in Engineering said) whether they've put people forward who have failed the later assessment stages, and have to reconsider some of the applications they previously binned off because they don't have enough people to fill slots?

Good luck with your presentation! I'm sure it'll go well! Just make sure you've practiced, done research, etc.

 

[flowcoach]

I finished the apprenticeship six months ago. I would not have said it was particularly difficult to get into.

 

[dmncf]

You sometimes hear of jobs where there are 1,000 applicants for each position (I'm talking generally rather than about Network Rail here). That could make an applicant think they have a 1 in 1000 chance of being successful. But it's important to realise that among those 1,000 applicants there will be applicants who barely filled in the application form, and applicants who turned up to the interview hung over and having done no preparation e.g. had not revised the Lifesaving Rules.
You can improve your odds and have a high chance of getting into a Network Rail apprenticeship if you concentrate on preparing for the assessment centre. I don't know what brief you have been set, so please give Network Rail's instructions precedence over any advice you are given here. I would suggest that you should:
- Make sure that your presentation fits the brief / answers the question.
- Structure your presentation so that you have an introduction / contents, a main body, and a conclusion / summary.
- For a 10-minute presentation, have around 5 to 10 slides.
- Practice your presentation.
- Get family or friends to ask likely questions so that you can practice answering those.

If you search RailUK Forums you may find useful advice in other discussion threads. For example, I'm aware that Network Rail use competency based questions that suit answers in the STAR method. I'm sure others know far more than me. Good luck with your assessment centre.

 

[flowcoach]

I would add that whoever you are presenting to is probably sick to death of PowerPoint, so I would suggest that you are better off working from/distracting them with a flip chart or physical objects. Use something that you are already interested in and knowledgeable about.

 

[Horizon22]

I would add that whoever you are presenting to is probably sick to death of PowerPoint, so I would suggest that you are better off working from/distracting them with a flip chart or physical objects. Use something that you are already interested in and knowledgeable about.

I don’t necessarily think that’s true. PowerPoint (or other presentation software) is a staple and well understood.

However a bland presentation will make them “sick to death”!

 

[NK7]

I finished the apprenticeship six months ago. I would not have said it was particularly difficult to get into.

Did you do the presentation too in the final stage of the recruitment process?

 

[jupiter]

You could do a presentation entitled:

"Why companies make massive mistakes when hiring people following good presentations"

That's one I'd like to listen to.

 

[flowcoach]

Did you do the presentation too in the final stage of the recruitment process?

Not that I can remember. And I think I would remember because ten minutes is quite long for this kind of thing.

I was processed at the end of lockdown, so everything was happening online. There were a number of videos we had to record, like why we wanted to join, what our strengths were and how we would solve a simple practical problem (model bridge using paper and paper clips). I doubt if any were longer than five minutes.

 

[alxndr]

When I applied eleven years ago there were 2000 applicants for an intake of 200. I have no idea what the numbers are like these days, but I doubt it’s easy.

For the presentation make sure you actually prepare something, choose something you’re interested in, but also think about the type of people likely to be interviewing them and the skills you think they’ll be interested in.

Research what it is you’re actually applying for as well. It’s not uncommon come across people who think they’re applying for a signaller’s job or working on trains for example.

 

[NK7]

What do you do on the assessment day? I know I have to do a 10 min presentation but thats all i was told on the email.

The booking slot shows a time of 2 hours so what im i doing for the other 1 hour 50 minutes?

Has anyone done the assessment day specifically for the rail engineering technician apprenticeship?

Ive already done the video interview where I need to record my answers and that was the stage I passed before I was invited to the assessment day.

Any idea what il be doing?

 

[Jenga1]

Congrats on getting through to the AC! For my apprenticeship AC my 10 minute presentation involved giving a PowerPoint presentation to two members of the NR team and I was provided with the question / assignment one week before my AC so I had plenty of time to prep for it. My AC was virtual and not in person and I was given a lengthy time-slot too but I think it is just to cover all eventualities. After the presentation, I had an interview with the same two members who were really nice and made me feel comfortable. Admittedly, this wasn’t for the technician apprenticeship so your AC may follow a different formula.
Good luck with it!

I echo what DMNCF said above.

If a Powerpoint presentation is suggested, stick with that, they have suggested a PowerPoint presentation for a reason. Don’t forget that your interviewers already know about NR because they are current employees but they want to know that you have taken the time to research and that you understand the concepts but don’t regurgitate everything from the NR website, you should also bring in your skills too to show that you are suited for that role.

I appreciate it’s a daunting thing to undertake but don’t be overwhelmed with the task in hand, I’d suggest you start your research on NR and the area that you are going to present on and make notes as you go along. I found it helpful having pieces of A4 paper to represent each slide and working from a rough draft before hitting the laptop and typing up my first draft.
Practice, practice, practice. Time yourself (my first presentation lasted less than 3 minutes so I knew that I needed to expand on everything and eventually I got the presentation to about 7 minutes). Practice speaking out loud, practice on family and friends. Slow down and resist the urge to rush through the presentation. And then practice your answers too, again out loud so that you get accustomed to speaking out loud. Don’t forget you’ve done really well to get to the AC stage so you are more than capable of gaining a role at NR.

I hadn’t really given a PowerPoint presentation before my AC so I researched what was expected from one and went from there. Ahead of the AC, I practiced screen sharing and I also printed a copy of my presentation out in case of technical hitches which fortunately didn’t happen.

I was in your position a couple of months back and fortunately was offered an apprentice role with NR and although the AC is daunting, I found the NR members really nice and they made me feel at ease.

 

[NK7]

@NK7, I have just posted on your other thread but it makes sense to continue with this thread instead.
I echo what DMNCF said above.

If a Powerpoint presentation is suggested, stick with that, they have suggested a PowerPoint presentation for a reason. Don’t forget that your interviewers already know about NR because they are current employees but they want to know that you have taken the time to research and that you understand the concepts but don’t regurgitate everything from the NR website, you should also bring in your skills too to show that you are suited for that role.

I appreciate it’s a daunting thing to undertake but don’t be overwhelmed with the task in hand, I’d suggest you start your research on NR and the area that you are going to present on and make notes as you go along. I found it helpful having pieces of A4 paper to represent each slide and working from a rough draft before hitting the laptop and typing up my first draft.
Practice, practice, practice. Time yourself (my first presentation lasted less than 3 minutes so I knew that I needed to expand on everything and eventually I got the presentation to about 7 minutes). Practice speaking out loud, practice on family and friends. Slow down and resist the urge to rush through the presentation. And then practice your answers too, again out loud so that you get accustomed to speaking out loud. Don’t forget you’ve done really well to get to the AC stage so you are more than capable of gaining a role at NR.

I hadn’t really given a PowerPoint presentation before my AC so I researched what was expected from one and went from there. Ahead of the AC, I practiced screen sharing and I also printed a copy of my presentation out in case of technical hitches which fortunately didn’t happen.

I was in your position a couple of months back and fortunately was offered an apprentice role with NR and although the AC is daunting, I found the NR members really nice and they made me feel at ease.

I memorised by entire presentation, the other tasks is what im concerned about. Especially the one on one interview

Congrats on getting through to the AC! For my apprenticeship AC my 10 minute presentation involved giving a PowerPoint presentation to two members of the NR team and I was provided with the question / assignment one week before my AC so I had plenty of time to prep for it. My AC was virtual and not in person and I was given a lengthy time-slot too but I think it is just to cover all eventualities. After the presentation, I had an interview with the same two members who were really nice and made me feel comfortable. Admittedly, this wasn’t for the technician apprenticeship so your AC may follow a different formula.
Good luck with it!

I have a virtual assessment centre too, I wanted to know is the presentation the only part of it because the slot is 2 hours long.

 

[davidahmet]

I had my assessment centre on Thursday. I was first brought into a call with other interviewees where we were introduced to the apprenticeship leads. After that, I was passed to my assessors for the presentation. The presentation was followed by 10 minutes of questions relating to the presentation. After that, a 40 minute interview containing general interview and scenario-based questions. I was assessed by two people - one asking the questions, and one taking notes. There were no other tasks on the day. An overall good experience.

 

[GuyGibsonVC]

Also have a look at the Fast Track Technician Scheme that has been rolled out.

This is basically the apprenticeship condensed into 18 months.

Good luck. I know of an Apprentice who came out of his scheme and went straight into a S&T Team Leader role. £52k basic at 21 years old.

Not bad!