Trainee engineer Review

Overall role is a trainee fibre engineer, day to day jobs are providing customers with super fast fibre, and also fault finding, so some jobs with be dealing with customers faults, other task could be just running a cable to the property ready for the next stage of install for the next engineer to come and get that customer in service.

My new skills would be from learning to climb a ladder at either a house end or a pole end, feeling secure whilst climbing using my harness and tetra to make sure I'm safe at all times, learning about the network and how fibre is installed and how to connect a customer onto the fibre network.

My enjoyment is being out on the tools, learning everyday and knowing that there isn't 2 days the same, from going to a full install, to then maybe just looking at a job or even going to fault where the customer equipment has gone faulty or not even set up properly

My programme the SVQ side of it is well structured, the day to day job on the tools not so much, lack of support and not knowing some things can be hard, its lots of phone calls to other engineers and head banging against the wall. but as they say every day is a learning day .

The support has been ok, so from that other engineers to my buddy and the new starts i have made friends with has be good, my SVQ workshop days are great my assessor has be first class and understands now how i work and what i need to get me over the finish line,

Training support towards my qualifications is great, learning and ask lots of questions all the time, out on the tools i feel i could be getting more help and even more buddying, some days its hard to understand what could be done as other more experienced engineers already know the answer to.

I Honestly don't think it makes much difference, what we have learned has been shown to us and moving forward to say that we have a piece of paper saying great you have completed a qualification online. well done but to class us as trainee engineers is wrong as yes we do learn but there is only so much more we can be shown out in the field, every install isn't the same but the principles are.

The has been nothing put forward for us to get involved outside of work, unless you call an engineer or made friends in the work place its a lonely working environment, i think more for the new engineers we could be buddied up and bounce of each other for the years training we get.

No

Lack of support from senior management, the lack of buddying you receive after coming out of training and then let free in the network and then made to feel like you should know everything, Yes its said just pick up the phone and someone will help, but what i have witnessed if you keep pestering people they get fed up and not wanting to help or less helpfull.

Other advice or tips would be, take everything in enjoy it as everyday is different and not to jobs are the same, ask lots of questions when buddying don't be shy to go straight in when buddying and do it all yourself get plenty hands on experience as when you go live its a very nervous time,