Rolling stock technician apprentice. Review

My role is as an apprentice rolling stock technician, which entails working at a depot and completing a level 3 btec and NVQ in electrical engineering. We have also been given the chance to complete a HNC in electrical engineering. My role as a technician is to complete routine maintenance work on trains for Siemens, this can be anything from electrical testing and fault finding to replacing suspension.

As part of my apprenticeship I have completed a functional skills in ICT, as well as a PEO qualification which has taught me engineering operations and how to correctly use multiple pieces of equipment such as pillar drills, milling machines and lathes. I have also learnt multiple things about the systems which we have worked on as part of the internal training courses.

I thoroughly enjoy the apprentice scheme that I have chosen here with Siemens as I have learnt a lot from both my college education and my internal training, I am now educated in engineering and have learnt many life skills from the training. The company is great to work for and both the job and training is of a high standard, when I started at Siemens everyone made me feel welcome and continued to do so throughout my apprenticeship, everyone is always ready to give you a helping hand if ever you become stuck with day to day tasks.

As a apprentice at Siemens I valued by my colleagues and my the management, I have been given many opportunies whilst working for Siemens which I would not have had otherwise and everyone is trying to push you to be your best. I have taken part in many tasks and projects within our company including being apart of the apprentice council, internally I have been put on courses and given personal projects to further me in my role as a technician.

My programme is split into 3 years with the first year being solely at college and the second year having day release to go to college and working the rest of the week, in the third year you work full time or continue day release to complete a HNC (which is the route I have taken). When you start in the second year to get your understanding of the systems up to a good level we are put on multiple training courses as well as shadowing on the depot to gain a further understanding of our roles and to be shown how to complete certain tasks.

Our training is provided my NTAR which is the national training academy for rail, the training which we receive from the national training academy of rail is of a high standard, we have had multiple training courses delivered to use by many tutors all who have done our jobs first hand before joining the training teams so they really know and are passionate about what they are teaching us. The attitude to supporting us is superb as someone is always willing to help you if you are stuck or if you want to learn something new to better your career.

All support that we need is on an internal intranet where we can have direct access to anything that we need, so accessibility to help is never an issue. we have an in house HR team but also have a direct number to talk to the companies main HR team. Our manager is always happy to help and is there to answer any of our queries, and is always there to help if you have any problems whether that's within the business or personally.

The salary we are given is extremely generous for a modern day apprenticeship considering what other industries and companies are paying. My living costs are low as I am still living at home but pay rent to my parents, travel costs are minimal as I a short distance to my place of work. The location of the depot where we work is in the center of Southampton so there are plenty of travel access points whether that's by train bus or car.

Outside of our working environment there are lots of opportunities as the company will hold team building events, as part of my apprenticeship I have visited schools in the local area and across the country to speak about our apprenticeship. I have also volunteered to go to multiple careers events to showcase the Siemens apprenticeship. The local area has a vast array of things to do as we are close to the center of a large city. I have also been put onto multiple courses not necessarily apart of the programme but to benefit me personally which has been a great opportunity.

Yes

The Siemens rolling stock technician apprenticeship is a great opportunity to further your education, gain skills fro life and develop a great career.

To anyone thinking of applying for a Siemens apprenticeship I would say don't hesitate just apply as it is a great opportunity. The main piece of advice I would give to anyone who wants to apply is to show a great interest in the work you want to do and also to show a willingness to learn.