Apprentice Review

I attended lessons in my first 6 months where I attended a training school and stayed on site for the duration with the occasional weekend off. Now I assist and help engineers with maintenance tasks on the railways. I find it useful as I gain a lot of hands on experience

I have learnt how to deal better with problems and have proven to find ways in order to revolve them as well as taking notes and gaining experience and knowledge on components that I work on. Other skills I’ve developed include working in a team with a good attitude

My programme is hands on and I enjoy it I like the fact that i am not stuck in one place and I get to be out and about looking at different things and working at different sites with different people. It is rare any two days are the same

Programme is bang on great when it comes to organisation and structure. As the railway is such a big health and safety risk it’s always good to do every little thing correctly. All 3 years of my apprenticeship are mapped out and I have goals to achieve in order to succeed

The employer have offered a lot of support ever since day one. Providing a top of the range learning centre giving us meals and other benefits such a a leisure centre, library and cafe is so good. I feel like I was staying at a top university whilst earning good money

The training provider offer me a lot of time to get my log books done and a lot of support when it comes to working around schedules and deadlines I feel like I am achieving something all the time and get a lot done In short blocks at a time

My qualification is relevant as it teaches me specifics for my job and how to maintain things correctly as well as safely and in a timely manner. It has also provided me with a lot of hands on general experience and even made me work better with new people in teams

There are plenty of different events and activities to suit everyone’s needs. Everyone works with their own shifts and get to know eAch other really well inside and outside of work. For apprentices there are also plenty of networking events where everyone can get together and study different aspects of the company

Yes

I would not work for a company I did not think was good or where I did not think I would have a good future. The pension scheme is really good and the wage is always getting better giving me a lot of opportunities to progress as well as learn

In order to do well it’s good to get organised and focused as the first couple years are very busy. It is always good to revise for your tests coming up in the pre selection stages and try your best to show a good and keen interest in the company