Network Rail Apprenticeships

[quak_C]

It is easily possible to go to Grade 2 straight from the course (subject to how good you are of course), BUT (there's always a but) there are few things that everyone should be aware of when thinking about what jobs are available once you finish.

1) It depends on what jobs are AVAILABLE. Positions are not created especially for you. If there are no positions at your depot, then you may be displaced and moved, unless you fancy staying as the eternal third year apprentice.

2)You can apply for anything you feel qualified and experiencedd for. You may even be urged to take certain positions. You're not restricted.

3) Don't believe that you will be defaulted to a certain grade more senior than the basic. Just because you've completed the course, don't assume you can't get anything below Grade 2/Leading Trackman/whatever.

4) Money. Money varies all over the country. A Grade 2 in one part of the country may get paid more than a Grade 2 somewhere else. This stems back to the complicated local arrangements that can even stretch back to BR days. The fragmentation into IMC's during Railtrack didn't help either. The harmonisation of Maintenance into standard terms and conditions, and pay, is a very thorny issue for unions and management.

Before I'm seen to be painting a bleak picture, it's really not. The money is there if you work for it. Just don't expect it all in front of you when you finish, you may have to move, commute, or be patient. Your experience depends on how forward you are in years two and three in moving around all your depots departments, what skills you find yourself drawn to and are good at, and these determine how suitable a manager will find you for a role.

There are apprentices out there doing some fairly senior positions and for good money, and some will see the end of their days shovelling crap. Just try not to be the latter

To be honest, seeing the effort and keenness shown on this thread, I don't doubt that anyone here couldn't find themselves with a good job and having a chance to stretch their brains and make a difference.

that is some very sound advice you have given and its good to hear that as all the stuff you hear and read from NR doesnt seem to mention much after the apprenticeship
out of curiosity how big a jump did you make when you finished the apprenticeship
also am i correct to believe you work on the NMT?

 

[Hydro]

Financially, I made a very good jump. The type of work I do though, is not indicative of pretty much any other role in the company due to it's uniqueness. It's very anti-social, and so I have lost out on regular time off and have very variable working hours - some people may see this as a definite drawback. I like that though, as I'm an anti-social misanthrope as it is. I very rarely work on the NMT now, but I used to do it fairly regularly, I now find myself on the less flashy but harder working trains.

 

[S c o t t]

This may seem a bit how do i say it arsey but i dont mean any offense to anyone but .... when we go to colluingwood for the first year i will be tough to suck eggs pretty much ! iv done every bit of training down there just not railway pacific. The course between navy weapon engineer and network rail are pretty much the same.

I know iv got a good advantage to others but doesnt mean i will be the best far from it infact.

Iv got the drive to be level 2 even higher if possible. What do we need to do to get there ? is it all purely hard work at the depot ?

At my interview they told me it was a telecomms and signals depot and i would be going round all 6 teams 3 x telecomms 3 x signals im guessing this would help me alot towards level 2 maybe higher as its 2 different fields of work so gaining more knowledge ?

Im guessing a level 2 for the north west would earn 25 k a year + overtime rate ? is the other time rates decent btw ?

Pay isnt my main goal I just want a safe career that i enjoy. Just trying to get my head round whats happening after the 3 years as im 20 and have seen alot in life already worked hard in navy for poor money with no overtime what so ever just long long days with no added reward

 

[quak_C]

Financially, I made a very good jump. The type of work I do though, is not indicative of pretty much any other role in the company due to it's uniqueness. It's very anti-social, and so I have lost out on regular time off and have very variable working hours - some people may see this as a definite drawback. I like that though, as I'm an anti-social misanthrope as it is. I very rarely work on the NMT now, but I used to do it fairly regularly, I now find myself on the less flashy but harder working trains.

to be honest it doesnt sound that bad i seem to be the same in my current job never off adn always doing un-soicalble and varied shifts. The fact that its unique sounds pretty cool too and im guessing you go all around the country then?
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

This may seem a bit how do i say it arsey but i dont mean any offense to anyone but .... when we go to colluingwood for the first year i will be tough to suck eggs pretty much ! iv done every bit of training down there just not railway pacific. The course between navy weapon engineer and network rail are pretty much the same.

I know iv got a good advantage to others but doesnt mean i will be the best far from it infact.

Iv got the drive to be level 2 even higher if possible. What do we need to do to get there ? is it all purely hard work at the depot ?

At my interview they told me it was a telecomms and signals depot and i would be going round all 6 teams 3 x telecomms 3 x signals im guessing this would help me alot towards level 2 maybe higher as its 2 different fields of work so gaining more knowledge ?

Im guessing a level 2 for the north west would earn 25 k a year + overtime rate ? is the other time rates decent btw ?

Pay isnt my main goal I just want a safe career that i enjoy. Just trying to get my head round whats happening after the 3 years as im 20 and have seen alot in life already worked hard in navy for poor money with no overtime what so ever just long long days with no added reward

well if you feel that way then good mate im sure it will help you in the long run and you will have a sucessful career with NR i wish i had more knowledge and experience but i guess ill just have to work extra hard

 

[Hydro]

This may seem a bit how do i say it arsey but i dont mean any offense to anyone but .... when we go to colluingwood for the first year i will be tough to suck eggs pretty much ! iv done every bit of training down there just not railway pacific. The course between navy weapon engineer and network rail are pretty much the same.

You should do well then. I was in the Army before I did my apprenticeship and being used to a service environment is helpful. Though, as I'm sure you're aware from working in a military environment, never assume anything, close mouth and open ears; standard practice really. It's nice not having to constantly iron clothes too.

There's no "key" to a good career, just do well in the exams, study and work hard. Be seen to be keen to learn and broaden your knowledge (obviously, don't be a boot licker, a good working relationship is critical!), get around and see a lot of the work, socialise and take heed of those with the experience and knowledge of working on the railway for years.

The fact that its unique sounds pretty cool too and im guessing you go all around the country then?

Yes, I do. Top to bottom and everything in between!

 

[quak_C]

Yes, I do. Top to bottom and everything in between!

im guessing thats where the professional hotel critic part comes from lol

oh also thanks for all your advice and knowledge throughout the past few months

 

[S c o t t]

so are we guarenteed a job at the end of this apprenticeship ? we arent going to get to the end of it and then be shown the door are we ? I know have to have hard work all way through the apprenticeship but I hope to get a job at the depot where im going to do my apprenticeship.

What is the general salary for signal/telecomms technician ?

 

[Hydro]

You won't be sacked, or made redundant. You'll have a job, somewhere, somehow...

 

[LkToday]

hey guys, got a phonecall today and got offered a job at York signalling! very happy going to open day om the 25th of august! cya all there in sep!!

 

[Rwhunited]

Well see a few of you tomorrow! Rather excited

 

[S c o t t]

So how will that all happen ? we get told jobs available and where ect ? how woul you get grading then is that coursework ect or just work hard to get new skills i.e move around the teams ?

 

[Hydro]

In the first year, it's coursework plus exams. Second and third year, it's coursework in the form of essays you do whilst at your depot; essays on technical and operational subjects that you learn about whilst moving around the teams. You will do technical qualifications also, the actual subjects depend on what discipline you are in. These are bona fide railway technical courses with exams. I can't speak for the S&T, but in Track we did things like patrolling (basic and supervisors), track geometry design, rail stressing and so on.

At the end, you look for vacancies. First place to start is your own depot, if not, then you start looking further afield. Sometimes a vacancy will be kept for you, sometimes not, it all depends on where you are. Normally you can be slotted in somewhere, but whether it's what you really want is another matter. Every June there is a huge influx of apprentices on the online vacancy list searching for jobs. Allegedly a jobs list was created when I graduated and sent out to apprentices with a list of depots and what they wanted, but I never saw it, nor needed it.

 

[S c o t t]

In the first year, it's coursework plus exams. Second and third year, it's coursework in the form of essays you do whilst at your depot; essays on technical and operational subjects that you learn about whilst moving around the teams. You will do technical qualifications also, the actual subjects depend on what discipline you are in. These are bona fide railway technical courses with exams. I can't speak for the S&T, but in Track we did things like patrolling (basic and supervisors), track geometry design, rail stressing and so on.

At the end, you look for vacancies. First place to start is your own depot, if not, then you start looking further afield. Sometimes a vacancy will be kept for you, sometimes not, it all depends on where you are. Normally you can be slotted in somewhere, but whether it's what you really want is another matter. Every June there is a huge influx of apprentices on the online vacancy list searching for jobs. Allegedly a jobs list was created when I graduated and sent out to apprentices with a list of depots and what they wanted, but I never saw it, nor needed it.

Just trying to get my head around it all mate thats all haha thanks alot for the help so the essays/test/assessments in nvq work go towards grading aswell ? with the railway technical courses with exam results help graing ?

At my interview they told me that I would be working at chester depot after apprenticeship and iv also seen the jobs list when at my assessment day they gave us vacancies for each area/depot in ifferent fields on the chester depot was 1 signals and 1 telecomms when i asked at my interview how many positions they said exactly what it sed on my job form an then they went on to say both apprentices will swap over an learn both s & t then be place in a team after apprenticeship. Maybe we do already have guarenteed jobs at the end of the 3 years in our apprenticeship depot ? which hope i do as its 1 of 3 close depots to my house

 

[Hydro]

The coursework in the first year goes towards your initial BTec qualification, plus a seperate lot for your NVQ2. There are two lots of essays in years 2 & 3. The first are about 27 2-3,000 word documents written about various aspects of the job. These tie in with your railway courses at Sultan, and you write them at your depot as you get around the place hopefully learning about all the 27 different subjects.

The second are 9 NVQ3 packages, which are based on tasks that you are expected to carry out at the depot. There's actually a broad selection that you can choose 9 from, depending on what work is available to do. These tasks must be witnessed, and the essay on the job countersigned by a "technical witness", that is someone already qualified to do the job, and can confirm you have done it correctly.

For instance, when I was there, one NVQ3 topic was "Restoring stress in CWR track". I took my Level 1 stressing qualification (which you get at Sultan fairly early on in year 2), and went out with a Technical Officer, replaced 30ft of damaged rail in CWR track (tache ovale defect, for anyone in the know reading this), calculated how much stress was in the rail and restored it. All carried out in a T3 possession, with many resources required such as a track gang, welders, and stressing kit (big hydraulic tensors that stretch the rail, minimising rail expansion movement in hot weather). Plenty to write about, so I went into the office, wrote up about 3,000 words on the task, what I did, what I required, how I did it, and got the TO to sign it all off.

Only once all 27 essays and 9 NVQ3 essays are in, and signed off, can you formally be released from the course to apply for other jobs.

The actual technical railway courses do not count towards your mark, per se, but you'll find it awfully difficult to do your 9 NVQ3 packages if you're not qualified to do the work, q.v. the stressing example above. Plus the more you have, the more employable you are. The railway wants people that are able to do the jobs and have the ticket to prove it. These things aren't really to worry about just yet, just be aware of them.

 

[quak_C]

The coursework in the first year goes towards your initial BTec qualification, plus a seperate lot for your NVQ2. There are two lots of essays in years 2 & 3. The first are about 27 2-3,000 word documents written about various aspects of the job. These tie in with your railway courses at Sultan, and you write them at your depot as you get around the place hopefully learning about all the 27 different subjects.

The second are 9 NVQ3 packages, which are based on tasks that you are expected to carry out at the depot. There's actually a broad selection that you can choose 9 from, depending on what work is available to do. These tasks must be witnessed, and the essay on the job countersigned by a "technical witness", that is someone already qualified to do the job, and can confirm you have done it correctly.

For instance, when I was there, one NVQ3 topic was "Restoring stress in CWR track". I took my Level 1 stressing qualification (which you get at Sultan fairly early on in year 2), and went out with a Technical Officer, replaced 30ft of damaged rail in CWR track (tache ovale defect, for anyone in the know reading this), calculated how much stress was in the rail and restored it. All carried out in a T3 possession, with many resources required such as a track gang, welders, and stressing kit (big hydraulic tensors that stretch the rail, minimising rail expansion movement in hot weather). Plenty to write about, so I went into the office, wrote up about 3,000 words on the task, what I did, what I required, how I did it, and got the TO to sign it all off.

Only once all 27 essays and 9 NVQ3 essays are in, and signed off, can you formally be released from the course to apply for other jobs.

The actual technical railway courses do not count towards your mark, per se, but you'll find it awfully difficult to do your 9 NVQ3 packages if you're not qualified to do the work, q.v. the stressing example above. Plus the more you have, the more employable you are. The railway wants people that are able to do the jobs and have the ticket to prove it. These things aren't really to worry about just yet, just be aware of them.

see the essays are you expected to do them in your spare time or do you get time on the job to write them?

 

[Hydro]

Normally time on the job, but I did occasionally find myself doing a bit of catch up at home.

 

[erolosman]

just got back from my interview.

he asked alot more questions then i was expecting!!!, messed up about 2 questions, my nerves got the better of me and i jus froze, other then that i thought it went ok not great but ok, i dont think ill get the job though theres 1 spot and 4 people going for it, and even if i gave a good interview just takes one of them other people to come along and do an even better interview

25% chance of getting it... i dont like those odds

 

[Crossforth]

just got back from my interview.

he asked alot more questions then i was expecting!!!, messed up about 2 questions, my nerves got the better of me and i jus froze, other then that i thought it went ok not great but ok, i dont think ill get the job though theres 1 spot and 4 people going for it, and even if i gave a good interview just takes one of them other people to come along and do an even better interview

25% chance of getting it... i dont like those odds

Good luck to you mate

Where is it you went for?

 

[erolosman]

Romford E&P ad thanks

 

[quak_C]

just got back from my interview.

he asked alot more questions then i was expecting!!!, messed up about 2 questions, my nerves got the better of me and i jus froze, other then that i thought it went ok not great but ok, i dont think ill get the job though theres 1 spot and 4 people going for it, and even if i gave a good interview just takes one of them other people to come along and do an even better interview

25% chance of getting it... i dont like those odds

im sure you will have done great
at my interview all the tell us a situation you have done this and the like i kept giving examples at my current job and one of my interviewers asked to to give an example that didnt involve work and at that point i thought that was it for me
but i still got the job

 

[erolosman]

i felt the exact same! i havent had a job before (my first interview ever) and i was thinking to myself all i keep going on about is my college course, so i switched it up threw in a few work experience things, some sports, etc

he asked me wen ive had to organise stuff for other people, i talked bout how i recently organised a holiday for me and 3 mates.
then straight after that he said now tell me a time uve had to organise lots of things and what did u make most important!, that was a hard one coz i havent done loads at once lol :P.
umm he asked me wen ive been relied upon, i already prepared for that question so wen he said it, i was straight on it, asked me what i know about life in gosport and with this forum being really helpful that question was easy, he even said uve done ur research then,
asked me about something practical ive done, talked about college end of module practical exam, i cant remember the questions he asked me that jus made me think uh oh... i have no idea lol
how i would deal with sharing a room with 6 people, how i will deal with being away from home, how i will deal with shift work, how i will travel to work, how long it takes, and alot more lol

then i asked him bout 4-5 questions, had a lil chat and was off. oh and also i got there an hour and 10 mins early because my friend told me theres always traffic down towards i was going, took 20 mins to get there lol

 

[S c o t t]

You will be fine just fingers crossed youve done what you can.

My interview wasnt even realy an interview they asked me all the questions but they both laughed them off really as they related to the course and living away in gosport which iv done already with the navy. It was easy interview for me and I felt confident through out. You'll be fine mate honestly nothing to worry about youve only been college dont have many life experiences.

Cant wait to get down to collingwood and get it smashed out then get to depot which is where Id lov to be straight away haha. Just hope theres a job at the end of the apprenticeship for everyone.

But as I said iv got a jobs vacanies for apprentices from preston downwards. They gave everyone one of them at my assessment day. Maybe this means a job after the apprenticeship

 

[Kelsey]

went to the open day today... Cant wait to go in september!

 

[LkToday]

went to the open day today... Cant wait to go in september!

kelsey, if you have fb you can join the "network rail apprentice 2011"

 

[Rwhunited]

The place is amazing! Can't wait for September the training bit is great sports place is great cya all down there

 

[Kelsey]

kelsey, if you have fb you can join the "network rail apprentice 2011"

yeah ill join it whats the link?

 

[LkToday]

yeah ill join it whats the link?

im not sure the link just type in Network Rail Apprentices 2011 on fb, i think its ryan whos host so he will ned to accept you..

 

[S c o t t]

Does anyone know what happens at medical ? what tests ect

Is the urine sample for drugs test sent off or do they test it there and then ? only ever done 2 drugs tests they tested the there and then tho i no id be clean i always gt nervous

 

[quak_C]

so how was the open day? find out any new info or just stuff we already knew

 

[Kelsey]

im not sure the link just type in Network Rail Apprentices 2011 on fb, i think its ryan whos host so he will ned to accept you..

im just waitin to be accepted



got the date for my medical today... A week today at my chosen depot... Will they pay for me to get down there or not?