Apprentice Review

Currently I'm in my first year meaning that my current role is to attend college on a full-time basis and complete my engineering PEO NVQ and my Rail Technician BTEC! During college holidays I then attend the depot where I work along side experienced rail technicians to gain the skills for what I will eventually be doing. This could include fault finding, changing brake pads or working on the traction systems, and general maintenance work.

During the college course I have been building up basic engineering knowledge to build an underlying foundation to which I can expand on. Whilst in the depot I've been learning more specialist, practical stuff which cannot be learnt at college such as anything to do with the train's traction and safety systems operate or the general rules and regulations of the railway!

As there's essentially two parts to the programme I'll review both sections. On the actual on-the-job side of things at the depot, it's been fantastic! The best bit is that even though I'm a first year apprentice, Siemens allows me to get stuck in and hands on which is exactly what I want. Siemens seems to be really employee focused and provides a lot of support for their employees and apprentices. On the educational side there's mixed feelings, although this is nothing to do with Siemens (employer) or NTAR (training provider) as they're both excellent but rather the college NTAR uses for my area. The college can be frustrating to deal with, however both Siemens and NTAR have been supporting me quite well with this and I feel well supported by the team at NTAR and Siemens.

I've found both Siemens and NTAR to be very well organised, from the minute I applied for the apprenticeship to now everything regarding my apprenticeship has been communicated to me and has gone according to plan! The apprenticeship is a 3 year programme with near guaranteed employment at the end of it (provided you've passed all your qualifications and have been a model apprentice). The programme is split down to: Year One - Full Time at college working towards a PEO NVQ and a BTEC L3 Diploma Rail Technician with work during the holidays. There's also a week block at NTAR for specialist subjects that you can't do at college. Year Two - You'll be at the depot full time with day release at college to finish the 2nd year of the BTEC. Year Three - Full time at depot working towards becoming a qualified technician.

I feel very well supported by Siemens, both inside the depot and out. My line manager has been fantastic and any question I have for him, he will answer. Siemens has various support schemes for which an employee can access such as a mental health first aider onsite who you can talk to for any issues, be it work or personal. The team at NTAR are also always on hand to deal with any college or training related issues that may arise, and they have done a fantastic job at supporting me and the other apprentices!

NTAR have also been fantastic at supporting me through my college work. Every 12 weeks I'll have a review with somebody from NTAR who will go through with me how things have been at college, work, etc. There's been issues with the college that NTAR uses for my area, such as organisational issues. But NTAR have supported me well on this and do their best to sort these issues out with the college.

I feel as if my qualifications I'm working towards (PEO NVQ, BTEC L3 Diploma Rail Technician, and my competency qual) definitely supports me in my job role. The PEO helps support my practical skills within the workshop and depot, and my L3 Diploma provides me the underlying knowledge of how things work, why they work, and how to place theoretical knowledge into the real work. I cannot comment on my competency qualification yet, as I start to work on this during the last year of my apprenticeship.

Unfortunately due to the current COVID pandemic any events planned outside of work have been mostly cancelled, however from going by my experience and from what I've heard, Siemens and NTAR provide quite a lot of activities outside of work! This could be going to the pub with my work colleagues for a drink after work, to volunteering at job fairs representing the company around the country, or helping out in the community!

Yes

I'd recommend Siemens to anyone looking to apply for an apprenticeship as from my personal experience it has been brilliant! I do truly feel that the company definitely cares for their apprentices and are looking to progress our skills into the real world. Being a large company, the opportunities are vast and only end where you want them to end.

My advice is to research the company, look at the core values and the history behind what Siemens do. Try and get work experience in an engineering setting in order to get a feel and some knowledge of what may come. Definitely also do some research into the job role you're applying for as the interviews are technical based, but also don't be ashamed to admit that you don't know the answer to a particular question! And finally, just be yourself!