Network Rail - Apprenticeship Salary

[alxndr]

This is true. I mean we normally get to sit in the van til they are done though. Having said this my -4 night shift was definitely not inside the van. Absolute nightmare of a fault with a mechanical fpl. Then straight onto a fault with a track circuit that lasted the rest of the shift. I regularly have a stop on in winter so my 12hrs runs over.

Not for us, we generally stay on site prepping for putting it all back together, or are too far to make it worth going back (although do try to get the welders to put the hot slag near us!)
We're getting hit hard with faults here as well at the moment.

As for line blocks theres no need to tell me. I trained as a COSS in the summer (just after the tragic loss of two of our loveliest pway boys what a time to learn) and now Im taking the blocks most shifts.

I've been COSSing myself for about a year and a half now. It's got harder to get in even since I first started.
It sounds as though you knew the guys, my condolences. It shook us to the core even here, I can't imagine what it's like to have known them. It was a truly awful incident.

 

[M84]

Used to be 8am til 4pm daytime, i dont think this has changed much. They never used to allow you to stay offsite on a weeknight without special permission. This could have changed. The apprenticeship head now is a chap called Dan who is a lot more in tune with what it is to be an apprentice since hes an ex apprentice himself from the early days of the scheme. (2007 intake i think? Dont quote me on that but it just shows the potential here!)

Saturdays had been removed a couple cohorts ago. Id have to check if they are indeed back on. They are half days, you finish at 12.

Many thanks!

 

[ZombieLaydee]

Not for us, we generally stay on site prepping for putting it all back together, or are too far to make it worth going back (although do try to get the welders to put the hot slag near us!)
We're getting hit hard with faults here as well at the moment.



I've been COSSing myself for about a year and a half now. It's got harder to get in even since I first started.
It sounds as though you knew the guys, my condolences. It shook us to the core even here, I can't imagine what it's like to have known them. It was a truly awful incident.

Weve not long had a big resignalling through a large portion of our patch. Its reduced our faults somewhat. We are normally within reach of the van to be honest. Additionally when we are assisting the pway we usually have other stuff to do til we get the call. We are fortunate to be in the same depot as our pway and quite friendly with them so usually one of us will give them a bell and ask what time they reckon theyll need us. Then we plan the rest of our work accordingly. I hope youve got a onesie/bubble whatever your local preferred name is for the michelin man size all in one is I reserve mine for jobs where I know im standing still but it makes a difference.

As for the boys I did know them, not closely but well enough to be shaken up. I knew Gareth better than Mike, everyone knew Gareth. Both genuinely lovely blokes and I know people always say that when someone is gone but they truly were. I said goodbye in the morning and a couple hours later we had a phone call to immediately step off track and return to depot. It was a horrible shock. I hugged some of the pway boys in the depot. Big huge macho types crying their eyes out. It really puts things into perspective. If theres one piece of advice I can give anyone since its do not take your safety for granted. Be the knobhead who says im not doing that, its amazing how many people will be on your side but were too scared to be that guy. Easy for me to say but I genuinely mean it. Stay safe.

 

[M84]

This is a great thread for any future apprentices or anyone just looking to step into NW.

ZombieLaydee you seem very well informed. Out of curiosity, does the work for your discipline vary much between day and night shifts? I remember one of my friends who is now a planning manager was always telling me that isolations were one of the nicer jobs as an OH tech but also said that there weren't too many downfalls to OH apart from sometimes the amount of waiting about. Would you agree?

Thanks

 

[ZombieLaydee]

This is a great thread for any future apprentices or anyone just looking to step into NW.

ZombieLaydee you seem very well informed. Out of curiosity, does the work for your discipline vary much between day and night shifts? I remember one of my friends who is now a planning manager was always telling me that isolations were one of the nicer jobs as an OH tech but also said that there weren't too many downfalls to OH apart from sometimes the amount of waiting about. Would you agree?

Thanks

I work in an s&t faults team currently who are rapid response. Id say its pretty similar night and day for us most the time. We tend to have more urgent faults in the day of course and bigger planned jobs are reserved for nights if we think blocks may be an issue. We also do much more supporting the pway at night when they have bigger jobs on. Theres definitely a bigger difference between the two for others though. We can do a lot between trains. Our minor renewals boys have more variation. They do all the setup in the day for replaced equipment but often do the testing and the actual changeover at night.

 

[S_W]

Overtime is very rare as an apprentice unfortunately.

The apprentice that works at my depot gets plenty of overtime and night rate enhancements and has done for over a year so its avalible just managers discretion

 

[ZombieLaydee]

The apprentice that works at my depot gets plenty of overtime and night rate enhancements and has done for over a year so its avalible just managers discretion

Indeed. I had plenty in years 2 and 3 but its not likely in your first year as I mentioned earlier. It also really depends on the depot. They used to have funny rules about overtime, you got paid no additional for 9 hours, then set sums for up to 10, 15, 20 etc until a capped point. Thankfully the union binned that for us and now apprentices get paid overtime at their hourly rate +20% (last i checked the Ts and Cs). It soon adds up. The apprenticeship has improved considerably since I started in 2016. Its worth noting that other ex apprentices who started before this were on the old style apprenticeship and a lot of their experiences and info *could* be out of date. Overtime rules etc are one that crops up often.

 

[alxndr]

The apprentice that works at my depot gets plenty of overtime and night rate enhancements and has done for over a year so its avalible just managers discretion

Interesting, I've never met an apprentice who did overtime. In my experience managers aren't keen on it as apprentices don't count as people (in staffing terms), but as you say it depends. We may all be one company but there's an incredible amount of variation across the disciplines and depots.

Managers might be slowly realising that apprentices now are willing to do overtime. I was an apprentice back when we weren't paid properly, so there was no way I'd do an extra shift for free.

 

[KuruptReader]

ZombieLaydee and alxndr,

Greatly appreciate your inputs on the forum, I must admit I've read most of your comments over the years.

I'm due to start as an Apprentice in March. I've been put in Signalling, which I'm happy about. Though everywhere on the forum suggests it's Signalling & Telecoms (S&T). Though during the assessment I was asked twice what I would like to do and Signalling and Telecoms were two distinctly different disciplines. I guess what I want to ask is whether a Signalling Apprentice is the same as a Telecoms Apprentice and do they both finish their apprenticeship as S&T techs?

Apologies in advance if this is a daft question

 

[alxndr]

ZombieLaydee and alxndr,

Greatly appreciate your inputs on the forum, I must admit I've read most of your comments over the years.

I'm due to start as an Apprentice in March. I've been put in Signalling, which I'm happy about. Though everywhere on the forum suggests it's Signalling & Telecoms (S&T). Though during the assessment I was asked twice what I would like to do and Signalling and Telecoms were two distinctly different disciplines. I guess what I want to ask is whether a Signalling Apprentice is the same as a Telecoms Apprentice and do they both finish their apprenticeship as S&T techs?

Apologies in advance if this is a daft question

Well done on getting in! Glad my comments have been somewhat helpful. If there's anything else feel free to ask (although I can't help so much on the current apprenticeship process as I was a pre-Westwood apprentice).

S&T and signalling are the same thing, telecoms is something very different. Years ago S&T did cover both signalling and telecoms but although it's separated out into two different disciplines now the name has stuck. You'll only really find "signalling" used in formal contexts (although there are exceptions where S&T is still used formally, meaning signalling) but most people will still refer to us as S&T.

These days the signalling department/S&T cover very little in the way of telecoms. About as far as we go is replacing telephones, and very occasionally the cable from the cabinet to the telephone, although that generally now ends up being a joint visit on our patch.

You might encounter similar naming confusion with the people who have shovels and look after rails... they're formally Track, but are normally called P-way or Per-way depending on regional dialects. And when you get more into signalling you'll discover that there are some colloquial names for things that vary on location, which can be a bit confusing at first, especially if writing a report or talking to friends in other areas. It can feel like another language at times, but becomes second nature soon enough.

There's a lot to learn, and no one ever knows it all, but if you're keen and keep asking questions if you don't understand you'll do well. Basically just keep up what you're doing already.

 

[KuruptReader]

Thanks for the clarification alxndr appreciate it.

I'm really excited to be starting soon, can't wait to get stuck in at Hitchin Depot, though can anyone clarify if apprentices get the London Allowance in the second half of the first year and onwards? As Hitchin Depot is within the outer London Allowance.

Once again a big thank you to everyone who has contributed to the thread.

 

[Train182]

This is a very helpful thread for people who are considering the scheme or about to join the scheme.

I am about to finish my first year of the apprenticeship. I am of the telecoms discipline.


If anyone has any questions that haven't already been answered, let me know

 

[M84]

What's the food like?

How did you find the period at Westwood? Is there enough to keep you busy in the evenings and how is the work load in terms of course work?

Thanks

 

[Train182]

What's the food like?

How did you find the period at Westwood? Is there enough to keep you busy in the evenings and how is the work load in terms of course work?

Thanks

Hello Mate.

Westwood is an interesting experience to say the least! You'll meet people of all different ages and from a across the country! I personally loved the experience.

At Westwood you'll find a gym, swimming pool, steam room, sauna and bar! You really are quite well looked after.

In terms of the workload, stay on top of it and you'll be fine. Make use of your time after work to get assignments done, stay a little later if you have to do practical and help each other out and you'll soon get it done! Don't let it build up otherwise you will start to panic !


The food is alright, sometimes it can be good, sometimes very average. There's a couple of options to chose from, but it's not a buffet style help yourself thing. It's a menu of something like chicken, fish or veggie and you get to chose one!

 

[M84]

Thanks for the reply. It should be an interesting experience, especially at my age. Whenever my friends/family ask about the job, I can only describe it as train boarding school.

 

[Cavan]

This is a very helpful thread for people who are considering the scheme or about to join the scheme.

I am about to finish my first year of the apprenticeship. I am of the telecoms discipline.


If anyone has any questions that haven't already been answered, let me know

Can you tell us some more about the telecoms apprenticeship and nr telecoms in general as it one of the schemes with smaller numbers vs say track? Typical day to day tasks etc? Thanks.

 

[ctuck81]

There are x6 Operative positions for Hitchin/Hornsey OHL department that have been advertised externally

 

[JMS15]

Hi guys,

I'm new to this group, just let you know i'm due to start in March for Off-Track, which i'm cool with that. What's the difference for Technician and Operative? Also, when I have complete the three years training in 2023. Will be there more job opportunities after Off-track? Would be happy to work with Network Rail for rest the of my career... Also, is salary great with roster premium and over-time? Such as more years of experiences, upper the salary?

Sorry for the many questions, it's a massive decision of my life. It's my first time to apply apprenticeship and got in first time which i didn't expected!

Thank you!