S&T apprentice Review

I am a S&T apprentice who carries out a lot of railway maintenance and occasionally travels to faults on the railway to repair or replace them.

Definitely. I have gained lots of skills when working out track due to new work never done before.

It is enjoyable. I have always looked into being an engineer and this is finally where I want to be so I'm enjoying it. Work is repetitive but that's a given on the railway.

To some points it is. When training away fro the first 21 weeks it was very disorganised. When now at depo and working, it is a lot more organised and easier for me to progress through my apprenticeship.

The teams I work with are supportive and are willing to give me a hand when needed. Managers could communicate a bit more but Network Rail as a whole are a good employer to work for.

Some tutors are a lot more supportive than others. Been to different training facilities with different training providers and they are all equally as good but some could do more.

A lot of the training in the original 21 weeks was very basic and wasn't really railway specific so a lot of that couldn't be taken forward. Some of the training is extremely relevant and helps a lot with the job.

At the original part of the training there was extra activities to be involved in. However now that I am at depo, there are no extra activities to be involved in. If there is, I have not been made aware of this.

Yes

There are so many benefits at Network rail. The training is okay and will get you where you need to be. Its an interesting job with something new to see a lot of the time. It has its pension scheme and the chance of progressing in the job is good.

Be optimistic. It is a very good job that has a lot of different opportunities or jobs for people to try. Stick at it, some parts of the job is harder than others but if you can see the whole apprenticeship out, youll be in a job for life. When jobs go, more jobs are made especially with upcoming projects Network Rail is involved in.