Trainee Engineer Review

My job role as Trainee Engineer involves provision and repair of telephone lines. This involves visiting customers homes and providing them with a telephone line for them on behalf of their communications provider. A typical day could involve providing a cable across a road from the customers premises to the DP (distribution point) then completing the internal fit and installing a telephone point at an agreed location with the customer. I also provide FTTC (fibre to the cabinet) this involves working in PCP (primary connection point) located in the streets close to the customer property. My work can also sometimes involve working inside the telephone exchange when needed. I am responsible for ensuring I arrive at the customers premises inside the customers time slot.

Before joining Openreach I obtained a qualification in electrical installations. Whilst with Openreach I have attended many courses from Health and Safety to Roadworks courses. I can honestly say from day one I started learning new things and everyday I am still learning new things. I have learnt exactly how telephone lines work, how broadband works and how to deal with different faults that I can come up against every day. The learning journey is endless and im so excited to see what the future with Openreach brings.

I have always though if you ever wake up in the morning dreading going to work... your in the wrong job. I really enjoy my job and whilst some days can be really tough and hard work I still get up in the morning looking forward to the day ahead. Although we are mainly working on our own, our colleagues are always close by to help. This could be a phone call to my coach or calling an assist to help me with a particularly difficult task. The close contact with my manager always helps and im confident that the manager is there when I need them.

I feel really valued I have constant feedback from my manager this includes one to one reviews and emails regarding my stats so I can see how I am getting on. We have the ability to send 'E cards' to colleagues who have really helped or gone the extra mile. I feel that BT is constantly looking for different employee benefits for us too choose from. I have just taken advantage of a holiday vouchers employee benefit that pays £1000 towards a holiday and I can pay this back monthly through my salary.

I did think it could have been clearer from the start what exactly was involved. I did not realise exactly what was required till after my first few NVQ days. However now I know exactly what is required I do feel supported by the mentors that oversee the NVQ program.

I do feel supported. I do sometimes think it takes longer the n it should when marking work. As sometimes I am keen to move onto the part of the NVQ but am still waiting for previous work to be marked. Whilst my comments have been positive about my work, they are sometimes long awaited.

I feel I receive a lot of support from my manager, he has always made it clear that if I ever have a question I should just pick the phone up and ask. I have taken advantage of this many times. We have some great support systems that we can use for example we can use a 'Virtual Coach' who we can call and they are able to go onto a video call with us and see exactly what we see, they have access to many systems to help us.

I do feel the salary is low, whilst we do get a London Weighting allowance I still feel this is low for the area I live and work. However this said it is important to remember that Openreach pay for all my travel cost they pay for all my uniform. They also provide me with all the tools and equipment to complete my job correctly and safely

We frequently get emails regarding other activities that are happening within BT that we can be involved in, this could be learning the history of telephones. I have recently taken up a volunteering opportunity through Openreach, I sit in the governing board of a school on the Health and Safety and premises committee.

Yes

Because I enjoy my work, I love the company I work for, I believe they provide some great benefits. I think its a great place to work with some great people.

Be yourself. Don't be afraid or worried about the interview process, they are really nice people that interview you. Ask questions, for example I would have liked to know more about the NVQ and what was involved. Be patient the recruitment process can sometimes take time....But its worth the wait!