Signalling Technician Review

At the moment I am currently at the Westwood training centre. Day to day activities are lessons by Babcock instructors, with the evenings being used for assignment work and keeping fit. This includes the free gym and swimming pool, evening classes and working with colleagues to help each other on assignments.

I have developed time management skills and communication skills. The other apprentices help out a lot in terms of communication. We have a high amount of assignment work whilst we are here so time management is key otherwise I would be very far behind on this coursework, including reports of over 2000 words.

The program is mixed for enjoyability. Mixing with other apprentices and the social aspect is very enjoyable, and so are the practical units of this apprenticeship. However, some Saturday mornings are spent working which can be tiring especially if you are not a morning person. There is also a 00:30 curfew on six nights a week most weeks, which can be frustrating.

The organisation of this program has been very erratic at most times. The fitness sessions were cancelled and we were told this was temporary. This ended up being permanent. There can be things which happen at short notice, such as classrooms which are wrong on the timetable and wrong unit lengths for some courses.

We get a lot of support from both the Network Rail admin team and the babcock training staff. There are ADFs who keep track of your progress and wellbeing over the entire three years. For apprentices with learning needs support for them is also readily available to help them out.

The babcock team are also very helpful when it comes to working towards qualifications. Some instructors are willing to go above and beyond, staying overtime to help us finish our electronics and electrical units and others provide learning resources for us to study whilst doing out assignments in the evenings.

I feel that my qualification is only partially helpful to perform better in my role. This is because a fairly large amount of it is written essay and report based, including a business improvement techniques unit which both is heavy on written work and powerpoint slides, and has no relation to my role as a signalling maintenance technician.

There are plenty of extra curricular activities to choose from. This includes use of the swimming pool and gym, bicycles which can be hired out and charity events. The apprentices themselves also organise more activities such as paintballing, go-karting and nights out on the town to enjoy the Saturday nights.

Yes

This apprenticeship provides many opportunities upon completion. It is also within a stable company which is government owned, therefore no risk of collapse. Out on track every day is different and the end pay is well worth the work. The staff together constantly refer to the company like being in a large family.

My advice is to stick it out. Work hard on the assignments but enjoy as much of the social aspect you can. Westwood is only 21 weeks which has to be endured for a lifetime of fulfilling work, even when the curfew and the childish rules get you down. Talk to other apprentices as they go through the same things as you.