Rolling Stock Technician Apprentice Review

On a day-to-day basis I started by partaking in shadowing and watching various techs complete exam jobs and then was supervised to complete certain jobs on my own. I also have to attend college which is remote for the time being (every other month I have 3 weeks at College) where I learn about the maths and physics principles and there health and safety side of the job. I also have to complete various job reports and work orders on Maximo.

I have learnt the basic maths and physics principles and been able to apply them to the exam work that I undertake. I have also developed my computing and programming skills, when working with the High Tech Team, in regards to reading drawings and following schematics to fault-find issues with the trains. Fault-finding has been one of my favourite skills to learn, along with the basic mechanical side of the job, i.e. fixing the trains

I thoroughly enjoy the programme - there have been so many opportunities that have been presented to me and I would not have got these opportunities elsewhere. The only issue I would have is with the management and the communication aspect but it is not a big problem - more that it would be a lot more helpful if the information was delivered in a better way and presented all at once, upfront to us all in one go.

I would say the organisation could be better. The issues with structure stem from the management side in regards to them not understanding certain aspects so they are unable to deliver those pieces of information to us in a succinct manner. Some information comes late notice and so it can affect our previous work which can be annoying. Overall, the general them of the apprenticeship is well thought out but the finer details need to be refined better.

At the start I received plentiful amounts of support from my employer - they were always on hand to answer any questions and moved quickly to resolve any issues. However in the past couple of months the support has slowly declined - it is hard to get a direct reply from my manager. Overall, the support I receive is good I just believe that it could be better as sometimes I have to resort to asking my mentor for extra help.

Little to no support is received from the training provider it was all left to my employer to guide us through creating the logbook entries and completing the knowledge questions. The NTAR staff were a lot less approachable and were very hard to get in contact with - taking ages to reply to my emails and not reading through my work correctly. I for one did not need that much support but I know that my colleagues found it incredibly frustrating.

I do not think that the qualification really helps us that much in the actual day-to-day performance of the role as the answers I had to provide for them were basic health and safety questions, that I had already completed whilst at college - so it was really just reiterating my answers. Writing the job reports were useful but don’t affect the job role that much due to there already being VMI’s in place.

There are a lot of extra-curricular activities available to me through the programme. For example: - I was put on a team to create a work experience programme that catered towards 15-18 year olds, introducing them to the rail industry - Went to a transport fair which I spoke about the apprenticeship programme and how involved I am with the actual maintenance of the trains - Gave a recorded speech talking about the programme and encouraging others to get involved in it too - Team-building exercises with NTAR as an apprentice intake

Yes

It has been the most incredible experience for me - the opportunities I am offered are like nothing anywhere else and I honestly love my job. The qualifications we receive mean that we end up as fully qualified techs and the experience we receive throughout the 3-year apprenticeship ensure that we have all the knowledge we need before we enter the workplace so that we are fully equipped. It was the best choice I could have made for myself.

Don’t say no to any opportunities that arise - take every experience and absorb all knowledge that the managers, mentors and techs themselves give you as it is invaluable and you will be grateful later. My biggest piece of advice is to always complete work well before the deadlines to save stress and further downfall and don’t be afraid to ask techs or mentors for extra help, as they will know the best way to assist you.