Fitter /Technician Review

My role at southwestern trains involves a range of tasks, the majority of which involve working with more experienced employees within fault finding activities on rolling stock (trains). Also we attended lectures and courses which teach us the important lessons such as the laws of electronics which we would struggle to learn in the workplace.

I have developed a range of skill while working at south western trains, the most notable of which would be diagnostic techniques for identifying issues or faults within electrical systems. I have also learned how to safety use lifting equipment such as jacks and depot cranes. I also feel that my social skills have improved due to working with a group of people from varying backgrounds.

While I am very grateful for all of the experiences that I have been able to experience while working at south western trains there have been some issue such as periods of down time where the work load is reduced to the point where you struggle to stay busy and others where the work load is so great that you can feel over stressed.

The organisation of my apprentice scheme is very poor and my apprentice year we very lucky to have a selection of individuals step up and take control of our learning, this allows us to learn skills in other area of the rail industry such as shedding courses or restoration of older units (trains carriages).

There is a great deal of support from my apprenticeship manager, I feel that I can communicate with him on a human level rather like a member of management. This has allowed me to discuss issues which I wouldn’t be able to or feel comfortable communicating someone how acting like a formal supervisor role.

We have attended a selection of different learning establishments during my time with southwestern trains all have which have been very helpful and supportive. To add to this due to my effective and friendly work relationship with my manager I am able to request additional time if I require it.

Due to the training be purposefully aimed at bettering my ability to repair and maintain rolling stock (trains). I feel that I become better nearly every day at completing my job role, the short duration train courses are the most effective method of improving my ability to work on trains.

While social or extra-curricular activities are limited due to the large amount of work which we expected to complete within the working week. However my year of apprentices all meet up in our own time, and do after work activities. Also sometimes training courses take us away from home where we often place activities in the evenings.

Yes

I would recommend this apprenticeship to a friend due to the good workplace community and skill improvement opportunities which are readily available. Also the intake of apprentices at southwestern railway is limited due to the high standards, and where most of my friends come from engineering backgrounds i feel like they would be a good fit.

Ensure you understand basic mechanical and electrical engineering theory as this will help you greatly in your application exams. Also have an ability to look for multiple solutions to a problem rather than just sticking with one, as you have to fault finding exercise in your interview and there are some trick faults.