Traction and Rolling Stock Technician Apprentice Review

The T&RS apprenticeship is a level 3 course which covers all aspects of engineering on the fleet of Colas Rail On Track Machines. Our role day to day primarily involves training and assessments throughout the apprenticeship and interweaved with this is a series of placements and on the job experience to put our knowledge into practice. We also do periodical block release training with an external provider.

I have learnt a lot of new skills so far through the apprenticeship. These cover both manual tools training through to more advanced skills which are very complex and unique to the machines and environments I work around. I am always working on new skills and these are useful in a whole host of areas in the company.

I enjoy the programme very much. The T&RS sector of the apprenticeship is still in its first year so the apprenticeship in all areas is still being needed in. Other than that the experience is really good and the skills and qualities I am learning are really useful. I was always looking for a T&RS apprenticeship and this one was the perfect one.

The programme is in a good structure although being in its first year, there has been a few little issues, but these haven’t affected the learning and experience I have got from the apprenticeship. There are plenty of plans for the coming months and they cover all areas without overworking in certain parts.

My employer is always there when I need them. I can see any mentor upto sector manager in confidence and they provide any help I require. I also get periodical conversations with certain staff to review progress and this is then grouped and conducted a reviews throughout the year. From there, development plans are put into place to help you through the challenges you face.

The external training provider is an absolute asset to helping me through the apprenticeship. They conduct regular meetings and tasks to cover all the areas required and then these are reviewed and development plans are created to ensure that the qualifications are achieved to a minimum standard that I can achieve. The support is always honest and it is a credit to the trainer who has the passion for us to achieve.

The training from the external training provider is a nice change from the internal training and it allows us to be trained on the same topic in two different ways which allows us to better understand it. This then means that when we return back to our role, we have a better understanding of the job and the relative aspects.

The apprenticeship itself is very good and for our apprenticeship it does require some amount of lodging during training so you have plenty of time to socialise with colleagues and do activities. However, the company does not provide any support for these actives which is a shame but there is always plenty to do around.

Yes

Colas Rail is a great company to work for and they have so many different sectors in the company. The staff are great and the training you receive is of a high standard and currently is the only apprenticeship of its kind in the country. The T&RS apprenticeship is a great way to get started in the railway industry and once you are in you are in for life in most cases. It is just a great company to work for from the work to the support you record and the employee benefits.

If you are applying to Colas Rail, ensure you are certain on the job as they have many different sectors and the some jobs may seem different to what you expect. But once you are through the training the satisfaction you get is second to none. The company are great at supporting you throughout the apprenticeship from private discussions through to quarterly reviews. They are a great company to work for and it is a great opportunity.