Apprentice Signalling Design Engineer Review

Job Title: Apprentice Signalling Design Engineer Daily Tasks: Assisting with the production of signalling solutions, this involves: electrical design, ensuring submitted designs meet the standards, printing, stamping and helping with the systems Daily Interactions: On a day to day basis contact is made with the majority of the design team, this can be for assistance, receiving/handing back work and checking work. Projects: Projects in the office include Weaver to Wavertree resignalling and Bolton electrification and resignalling

I have been sent on numerous courses to provide me with the knowledge required to carry out my job role including Basic/Intermediate Signalling Technology, Route Relay Interlocking and Mod 5 Testing. This is supplemented by day to day mentorship from experienced designers. As well as this I am currently attending college to complete a HNC Electrical and Electronic Engineering Course (this is extra to the BTEC Level 3 course i was originally sent on)

The programme is very enjoyable but very full on. I quickly became involved in the design production process which gave me responsibilities which are key to job satisfaction. Feeling as though you are genuinely helping the projects is fulfilling however this combined with the other aspects of the apprenticeship (HNC, NVQ and gaining an IRSE Designers License) make for a busy but enjoyable experience

As well as praise from managers and those that hand out work to people such as myself Siemens also offer a "Champions Award" scheme where you can receive vouchers and e-codes to use on what you like when you have been recognised as working hard.

To begin with the training structure seemed slightly chaotic with training schemes and courses being added weekly however now I have settled into my job role it has become much clearer and useful

The official training provider (the college I currently attend) for my apprenticeship is actually relatively poor seeming very disorganised and rather useless. It's quite surprising that Siemens, being such a large engineering company, would choose such a place to send their apprentices however, all training aspects which Siemens has direct control over are very useful and supportive.

The support received from my employer is very good. New training processes have been put into place which helps you rapidly extend your knowledge and makes you get used to the design process. You do not just sit around doing pointless tasks, you carry out tasks which are vital to the success of the project and you receive all the training required for this

I am aware that the apprenticeship I am currently on is a rather well paid one however I do feel short on money quite often due to working in the city centre which means that long and usually expensive commutes are required daily. One thing which can be quite frustrating is carrying out the same tasks daily as someone who is not an apprentice, and therefore on a much higher salary, but getting paid much less.

I have been sent on many training courses and a few conferences/corporate social events.

Yes

If you are willing to put in a lot of effort you will be rewarded for it, you learn a lot and if you take it all in and apply it you WILL become a crucial member of the team.

Be prepared to work hard and show initiative. Demonstrate an interest in learning more even if it means reading through page after page of railway standards. My interview was fairly relaxed, a simple practical task and a short face to face interview was the interview process I went through.