E&P Apprentice Review

My current role involves me interacting with the team's on three different sub departments within the electrification and plant team. I take on a wide variety of tasks including testing and replacing equipment that falls under our areas responsibility. As this course requires me to complete reports and assignments I am given time during the shift to collect evidence and take pictures as the work is being done.

I have picked up a lot over the last three years and my confidence as an electrician has grown to the point where I am now confident to take on my own DIY jobs at home. I am working towards a inspection and testing qualification and have also completed my NVQ level 3 and ILM level 3. I hope to get more skills during my apprenticeship/in the future too.

At first spending nine months down in Portsmouth was a bit daunting but once I was there and had met the other people on the course it became enjoyable. Some of the instructors there where fantastic and you could tell that they wanted to make a difference. Once we where released to our depot we still went back down to Portsmouth for six two week courses and this was nice to see people from your class and find out how they had progressed.

When speaking to the executives and some other highly placed members of networkrail you do have a feeling of importance but unfortunately this feeling isn't really shared by the whole company. I would say that this is due to the lack of communication that is given out about what we do and what is expected of us. Over all I feel like I have been taken care of from.the company and the qualifications and opportunities that I have obtained are well with the time and effort needed to achieve them.

The structure and organisation is fantastic and although the course could be completed a lot quicker I believe that spreading it out over three years really does work. It gives you the chance to really gain some experience and get to know the ins and outs of the job. You are given plenty of time to complete the assignments. Using twelve week.reviews to monitor performance, which are completed by your engineer, is a great way of getting any further assistance from your management.

Whilst at the training centre the providers are willing to help as much as they can but the class that I am in has 16 people in and one of the others doing the same qualifications as us only has 8 which I think could have been rearranged to allow each student to have the same time with the instructor. Again after every time we complete a placement down in Portsmouth we have a review outlining how we are progressing.

Like I have mentioned earlier we have twelve week reviews which are completed by our engineer. During these reviews we have the opportunity to ask for any further assistance or ask any questions that we may have. This also gives him a chance to get to know us on a more personal level and suggest any thing he may feel will further our development with in Network Rail.

Being one of the older apprentices who has a child and a house to pay for I have really struggled with the wage package but I was fully aware of it going in which allowed me to save what I could before starting and try and see long term for when I finished the course. Speaking to other apprentices with less financial responsibility I would say that what we are given is about right for the position.

I haven't really looked for opportunities outside of the company but given the qualifications and experience that we have gained over the last three years I would imagine that I would be able to find work with in the electrification industry. I have also completed a cross discipline course which makes us look outside our department. This has opened opportunities with these departments and also with contractors outside of network rail.

Yes

It is a great company to work for if you want a stable job with good pay. It has both inside and outside work so you could aim for what ever you prefer and work towards it. They train you as, no pun intended, as the job and your career progresses keeping you up to date with the latest equipment and tools. The people you work with become your friends and the days start feeling less like work.

Try and look at the big picture if you are coming through the three year advanced apprenticeship training course and really use that time to learn as much as you can because it really will make the difference when you start applying for a position with in the company. Use the social media pages and tryamd get in touch with past apprentices to ask them any questions that you have, most of us are more than happy to help.