Network Rail is the organisation responsible for maintaining, improving and upgrading every aspect of rail infrastructure. To deliver a safe, efficient and reliable railway, we’re spending around £14 million every day on maintaining the railway network.
We will be investing a lot in each of our apprentices, as we need more and more high-calibre technicians for the future of our business. We hope that everyone who joins the scheme continues working for Network Rail once they have completed it and continues to develop their long-term career with us.
Yes – the scheme leads to an externally recognised qualification, accredited by Edexcel, City & Guilds and ILM, reflecting the quality of our training. You'll achieve a range of qualifications in engineering principles and practice, enabling you to develop yourself in the future.
Throughout the scheme, the emphasis is on learning by doing. During the first year, apprentices undergo training at the Network Rail Training Centre within HMS Sultan, a naval engineering training base in Gosport near Portsmouth. Here, apprentices attend workshops and have a mix of training delivered on both a one-to-one basis and in small groups. Years two and three are more workplace-based at a location near to home, apprentices then return to HMS Sultan for further technical training courses each year, which will be delivered by a Network Rail team of experienced engineers.
The safety of all our people is of paramount importance, and our apprentices’ training will always be supervised by established and experienced engineers. We also appreciate that apprentices are leaving home for the first time, which is why we have taken a number of steps to provide for their safe welfare.
We will expect apprentices to start with us on around the 9th September 2012. Selection days will start early in 2012.
Apprentices will be paid £8,400 during their first year and a £1,150 bonus on successful completion of the year. Accommodation and meals at HMS Collingwood are free. In the second year, they will be paid a salary of £11,750, rising to £14,000 in year three.
All apprentices are Network Rail employees from the moment they join the scheme. This means they qualify for our benefits package although the holiday entitlement is different in the first year to meet training requirements.
During the first year, apprentices will have Saturday afternoons and all day on Sunday off. They will also have long weekends off during the year – typically Thursday afternoon to Tuesday morning – plus block periods over Christmas and Easter.
During your first year, your leave has already been planned and built into your training programme, and you will not be able to take normal holiday outside these periods. During your second and third years, you will be able to take your 28 days’ leave like any Network Rail employee, as long as it does not clash with rail training courses that have been planned for you.
The training of Network Rail’s apprentices will be delivered by specially recruited and skilled trainers who will teach you all the basic engineering principles and skills that you will need. In the second and third years, it will be Network Rail’s trainers who will deliver the specific rail skills you will need in our own purpose-built training school within HMS Sultan.
The bedrooms are dormitory style, of either four or six beds in each room, so you’ll have to get along with your roommates. This is part of the personal development which underpins the Advanced Apprenticeship Scheme. The Scheme is more than just a technical training programme, it’s carefully designed to develop your potential across a range of technical and personal aspects.
This is due to Health & Safety requirements and regulation around shift patterns and working at night for the under-18s.
There is no upper age limit for the programme and we welcome applications from individuals of all ages (Over 17 by start date – see above) and backgrounds.
You will need to have 4 GCSE’s at Grade C and above. These need to be in English, Maths, Science (or Engineering equivalent eg BTEC / NVQ) and one other.
We may also be able to accept alternative Level 2 Qualifications in some cases. A full list of what we will accept will be available on the website later in the year.
If you are invited to our assessment centre, you will be required to provide original copies of your education certificates and also show that your qualifications are the equivalent to GCSE Grade C and above in English, Science, Maths and one other subject. UK Naric can provide this documentation for you, however it can take time for them to provide the qualification translation so we recommend you apply to them early. Their website is: www.naric.org.uk
If you are invited to our assessment centre, you will be required to provide original copies of your education certificates. Copies can be obtained via the exam board through whom you took your qualification. If you are unsure who this was, you should contact your school / college. The process for obtaining replacement certificates can take up to 8 weeks, so we suggest you start this process early. If you are not able to provide proof of qualifications already taken when you come to the assessment centre we will not be able to progress your application any further.
We are able to meet any dietary requirements – you just need to tell us at offer stage so we can let the kitchen team know and be ready.
Yes you can, however as you’ll be sharing a room, you cannot all watch individual TVs, therefore you may wish to wait until you have settled in before you decide what to bring. Every single TV that is brought onto site must have a TV licence.
Definitely not, although more than adequate showers and toilets are provided on each floor of the accommodation blocks.
Yes, you can bring anything that’s within reason. However, Network Rail will need to test the electrical equipment to check it is safe to use. This will be done free of charge.
During the evening and weekend you can come and go as you wish. There is a curfew that applies to all apprentices, requiring them to be back in the accommodation by 12.30am, when there’s work the following day.
Yes, after 10.30pm you should only use bedside lamps and try to be quiet. This is to help allow everyone to get a good night’s sleep. However, don’t see these as draconian measures, just common sense. If you return to your rooms after this time, you’ll be expected to try and not disturb the general peace.
No, drinking in your bedrooms is not permitted. There are several bars on site, plus a very varied nightlife outside the site available.
Unfortunately, because of limited car parking vehicles are not permitted for Year 1 Apprentices. There is an excellent local transport network right outside the base and all the local facilities are in easy reach.
The rules that are in place have been developed over the past couple of years to help everyone settle in and enjoy themselves. This should be one of the best times of your life with 200 friends to socialise with. None of the rules are designed to prevent you enjoying yourself, just to set a framework that everyone can live within.
Each accommodation block will have a designated manager on duty until 2am every night, including the weekends. After 2am, there’ll be a security presence who is fully first aid trained and will also act as a fire warden. These people are here to help apprentices, not discipline them. Network Rail has a small team of managers who have extensive experience in dealing with the challenges of this programme, and we understand that 240 people living together in dormitories can be a challenging experience for some people, especially in the early weeks of the programme, and learning from this experience is a vital part of the Advanced Apprenticeship Scheme.
Yes, as Network Rail has a legally extended duty of care for apprentices who are under 18, we take our responsibilities very seriously. The key points are that all under 18s must be back in their rooms by 12.30am, and a bed check will take place at 12.45am. Additionally if the Apprentice wishes to go home for a weekend, outside the normal long weekend arrangements, the permission of the parent/guardian will be obtained by Network Rail first. Apart from this, under 18s are treated exactly the same as all other apprentices.
It is a criminal offence to be unfit through drugs or alcohol while doing work known as safety critical work. We believe drugs and alcohol misuse is unacceptable under any work-related circumstances and therefore apply a zero-tolerance approach. We support this approach through regular drugs and alcohol testing.
Workers with Personal Track Safety (PTS) cards or in safety critical jobs must also comply with internal regulations on prescription medications.
All employees are subject to Network Rail’s drugs & alcohol policy. It applies to all employees, including those on part-time or temporary contracts, consultants, agency and other people working for or on behalf of Network Rail, including all PTS card holders.
Network Rail carries out random drugs & alcohol tests on workers with PTS cards or in safety critical jobs. All staff will be tested for drugs & alcohol if they are involved in a serious accident or incident or appear to be under the influence of either drugs or alcohol.
Refusal to take a test will be treated as a positive result and may result in dismissal.