Trainee Engineer Review

Trainee Enginner, working as a Cabler, installing optical fibre on new sites. Working on construction sites across South Anglia, in a small team. Provided with full training, Transit van with fuel card and all personal protective equipment as well as clothing. Provided with a work phone and laptop to assist work.

Gas testing. Cover lifting. Manual handling. Street works. CSCS card. Customer service. Cabling techniques. On the job learning from experienced colleagues. Access to support via Workplace, like a Facebook for work. Also a lot of technical information is available on the Intranet (called Isis). Nvq training provided by the company.

This was a big learning curve initially as I came from a different industry. Formal training was away at a training centre with food and accommodation provided by the company. This is complemented by a period of buddying, which is working with and assisting more experienced colleagues. There have been lots of challenges but the nature of the role and working with supportive colleagues made the whole difference.

The programme is well organised and structured. We are provided with a work laptop and scheduled days to complete the apprenticeship work. We are allocated an Apprenticeship Assessor that explains what work is required and regularly assesses and provides constructive feedback on our work. Successfully completing the apprenticeship within the timescale set of 12 months mean you can get a pay rise.

We receive quite a bit of support from our employer. We are scheduled twelve days across the year to complete the nvq. During that time, we are off the roster and off the tools. For the first part of the nvq, the ERRs, you really need to complete it in your own time, which can be difficult to juggle especially in the formal training and overload of the first few months.

I do not have contact with Pearson. The contact I receive is via my Assessor. We meet once a month, for the whole day. I complete as much of the units as possible with my assessor in the same room, available to provide me with helpful feedback. My nvq group is quite small, meaning we have good support.

The qualification gained is the btec level 2 in it and telecoms. There are elements of it that are directly relevant to my role. Completion of this qualification is an essential part of my first year on the job and essential to progress on the pay scale to fully qualified engineer status.

I am not aware of any social or sport activities offered at work. I certainly don’t recall hearing of any. I understand the company encourages staff to volunteer in the community. There may be opportunities to network with professionals via the union and/ or the ITP, which is the institute of telecoms.

Yes

Openreach seems to be a good large company to work for. This is an exciting time to join the company. I have found the company to be quite inclusive and encouraging diversity and good representation. Once I complete my apprenticeship, I should get a pay rise and have the opportunity to work overtime which should make life easier.

Be honest. Work hard. Pay attention. Don’t go round pretending you know everything when you don't have a clue. Be punctual. Be a team player and pull your weight, every single day.. Like everything in life, you get back what you put in. This can be a demanding job, working outside all day in all weathers. If you are a bit fragile of constitution or downright lazy, this might not be the right role for you.