Track maintenance and electrification. Enquiry about long term career prosper

[pittabread]

Hi there. Hopefully this post is within the guideline rules.

Long story short, bad career choices and I'm back to square zero. I recently signed up to the job centre and there is this rail company offering training for track maintenance and electrification for Network Rail.

The training is offered by a Network Rail sub-contractor, with a training period of 2 weeks, with work after the training. The catch is the work is 0 hours contract. Also supposedly you're not required to work with the subcontractor and can choose any company offering work on Network Rail.

My question is, is there a method of progression with an opportunity like this? I graduated as a civil engineer and have little experience with Project Management.

Could a role like this be an opportunity that allows me progress internally within Network Rail, or are these Track maintenance roles far away from the more skilled roles that it isn't worth it?

 

[Supercoss]

Once you pass an exam and gain an industry “ sentinel” card you will have a company as a sponsor. Plenty of work for agency/ contractor staff usually hard graft, shovlin, installing cable routes or topping up regular Network Rail own staff teams on projects. Natural progression from Personal Track Safety ( PTS) will be to controller of site safety ( Coss) which will open up more work opportunities then add on Engineering Supervisor (ES) or Protection Controller (PC). A sentinel card with sponsor and basic PTS is the way into the industry then keep adding competences to the card.
More specialist competences for overhead line or conductor rail, track maintenance, signalling maintenance are also available.
Night work, weekend work and Xmas new year work more common nowadays for entry level.
You can have more than one sponsor ( by company: the company you work for must be displayed on your upper body ppe )

 

[pittabread]

That tracks I guess.

This role is being sponsored by a third party and, they have repeatedly mentioned you are allowed to work with other sponsors.


My question is still the same though, what is the progression like in that sector. Would I be able to progress into more specialised roles ( engineering ) with Network Rail, or is there a divide between Network Rail and its subcontractors?

I wouldn't mind putting in the hard work for a few months of night shifts if I knew there was a clear progression path.

 

[TSG]

That tracks I guess.

This role is being sponsored by a third party and, they have repeatedly mentioned you are allowed to work with other sponsors.


My question is still the same though, what is the progression like in that sector. Would I be able to progress into more specialised roles ( engineering ) with Network Rail, or is there a divide between Network Rail and its subcontractors?

I wouldn't mind putting in the hard work for a few months of night shifts if I knew there was a clear progression path.

I'm not in track or electrification and I've never worked for the labour suppliers, but I have recruited railway engineers.

A 'clear progression path' as in some sort of structure that will guarantee you aren't shovelling rocks 5 years from now? No such thing.

The people you are proposing to work for mostly supply labour. I suspect if you tell some sponsors that you have a civil engineering degree and you want to develop yourself they will show you which end of the shovel to hold and send you out shifting rocks. After you've turned up and shovelled rocks for a while, some may be more interested in teaching you something more technical though. Its all experience but clearly the latter is what you want to head for.

Further down the line though, you apply for an entry level engineer job with NR or one of their more technical contractors, the engineering firms doing design and managing jobs rather than the labour firms. There's no certainty but if I get a CV for someone with an engineering degree and practical experience 'at the coal face' there's a good chance they'll be shortlisted. They've shown some commitment to the industry. They have the theoretical knowledge to progress as a professional engineer. They have practical experience which helps in two ways. Firstly, much deeper understanding of what practical work is required and what problems may be encountered when looking at proposals/drawings/plans. Secondly, understanding of the sort of people you might be managing, the technical and safety qualifications they will need, and what its actually like to do their job on a pissing wet night in January.

There's no guarantee but getting practical experience isn't going to do you any harm. Best of luck.

 

[pittabread]

I'm not in track or electrification and I've never worked for the labour suppliers, but I have recruited railway engineers.

A 'clear progression path' as in some sort of structure that will guarantee you aren't shovelling rocks 5 years from now? No such thing.

The people you are proposing to work for mostly supply labour. I suspect if you tell some sponsors that you have a civil engineering degree and you want to develop yourself they will show you which end of the shovel to hold and send you out shifting rocks. After you've turned up and shovelled rocks for a while, some may be more interested in teaching you something more technical though. Its all experience but clearly the latter is what you want to head for.

Further down the line though, you apply for an entry level engineer job with NR or one of their more technical contractors, the engineering firms doing design and managing jobs rather than the labour firms. There's no certainty but if I get a CV for someone with an engineering degree and practical experience 'at the coal face' there's a good chance they'll be shortlisted. They've shown some commitment to the industry. They have the theoretical knowledge to progress as a professional engineer. They have practical experience which helps in two ways. Firstly, much deeper understanding of what practical work is required and what problems may be encountered when looking at proposals/drawings/plans. Secondly, understanding of the sort of people you might be managing, the technical and safety qualifications they will need, and what its actually like to do their job on a pissing wet night in January.

There's no guarantee but getting practical experience isn't going to do you any harm. Best of luck.

Thanks for the reply.

I guess it's like most sectors. It's all about showing initiative and networking, and then hoping for the best.

Is there anything you recommend someone just starting out to do?