Callum Burns – Case Study
Rail Engineering Design Technician Apprentice at ARUP
I decided to choose an Apprenticeship, as I didn’t want to continue learning within a classroom based environment. Personally, I find a ‘hands on’ approach to learning a lot more effective than reading a book. Ever since I could remember I have always wanted to be an engineer and an Apprenticeship in engineering seemed the perfect solution. With the help of STEGTA, I was able to pursue my ambition of becoming an engineer. All I had to do was hand my CV into STEGTA then they were able to do the hard work and find me any suitable companies that were recruiting Apprentices in 2015.
I left school at 16 and went straight into an Apprenticeship with the help of STEGTA. I had to write a CV and apply for the job online. Overall, because I had an interview with STEGTA before my official interview, I was well prepared for the ARUP interview process. I thought it was simple and everything I hoped for. My actual interview was completed by a senior engineer and my current line manager, within the Permanent Way team at ARUP.
Once I started employment at ARUP, I got the chance to go to London for the week with the rest of the Apprentices within in the company. This was great as it offered me the chance to meet new people from all over the country who were also doing the same apprenticeship as me. The week consisted of a variety of activities all to try and encourage communication with other apprentices. But ultimately the main focus of the week was for the apprentices to learn and adapt from school/college to the full-time working life. Overall this was the foundation for me to crack on with my NVQ and allowed me to set both short and long term goals within the company.
My day starts at 7.30am where I then catch the 7:49am train to Oxford Road. I make sure my bag is packed the night before or I will definitely forget something. At work my role is a CAD technician within Rail and I am responsible for the CAD on any rail project allocated to me. Each day at work is different but my normal day will include speaking to engineers and discussing what their ‘perfect’ drawing will look like. And we then cooperate to find the best alternative. Due to working in Manchester, I have my lunch at a different location most days. My day at work ends at 5pm, unless I have extra work required. And then I catch the train home, from Oxford Road.
My training officer from STEGTA, Hugh comes in every 6-8 weeks to ensure I am keeping on top of the tasks he has set and to also ask how work if going. The STEGTA training officer is your main contact for any issues/fears or questions if you ever feel that you cannot ask work. As a result they are ultimately there to support and guide you through your Apprenticeship.
Upon completion of the Apprenticeship, I hope to continue learning whether that’s through a HNC/HND or if I am lucky enough to work towards getting a degree in Civil Engineering. Ultimately, I hope to become a chartered engineer.