Why Choose Online Rail Courses?
Andrew Knowles accepting an award from the Institute of Engineering & Technology (IET) in 2014 for his contribution to improving safety of UK rolling stock.
My Transition Story
I served 6 years in the Royal Air Force as an Armourer on various Chinook helicopter squadrons based at RAF Odiham in Hampshire. During my time I completed four tours of Afghanistan but by 2008 I'd had enough, I enjoyed the job but wanted more freedom. I felt like my career progression was restricted, the military promotion system seemed weighted towards time served as opposed to merit, skill or competence.
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I officially left the forces in 2009 without a clue what I wanted to do. I had a good apprenticeship (namely a NVQ Level 3 in Aeronautical Engineering) and a decent amount of hands-on experience. I presumed these skills were transferable to other civilian engineering industries.
My CTP Experience
I PVR'd (Premature Voluntary Release) from the forces, so left with £0 resettlement. During my 12-month notice period I was put in touch with the Career Transition Partnership (CTP), based in Aldershot. They ran some free to attend courses, such as CV writing. These courses were okay and no doubt helped me but they were far too generic. Engineers, Logistics, Soldiers, Chefs & Admin staff all in the same room…It was a very 'universal' approach, or as I like to call it ‘one size fits nothing’. Needless to say it was very limited and I remember thinking...it's true you really do get what you pay for.
The CTP Employment Fair
I travelled to a CTP employment fair with a mate of mine (Stu) we were both leaving at the same time, the big difference was Stu had resettlement money and I didn't. I was expecting a room full of companies offering entry-level jobs to people leaving the forces. However, after an hour or so it was quite clear that most companies were offering training, without the guarantee of a job at the end of it. These courses were expensive, far too expensive for individuals to pay for themselves. It seemed to me that these companies were more interested in getting their hands on resettlement money than offering forces leavers’ jobs.
A Lucky Strike
On my way out of the building I came across the Clemtech stand (they are a Rail recruitment agency) and within 15 minutes we’d arranged a job interview. I must admit, by this time of the day I was rather suspicious and wondering what the catch was...as it turned out there was no catch! A few weeks later I was being interviewed for a Warranty Technician role with Bombardier Transportation, a company that builds trains.
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The interview process wasn't easy....there were two written aptitude tests (1x Electrical & 1x Mechanical) and a panel interview. Somehow I managed to scrape through the process without any knowledge of trains at all. When a say no knowledge, I really mean nothing at all...I didn't even travel on trains!
The Learning Curve
My first 6 months in the industry were tough; the learning curve from maintaining weapon systems to trains was steep! I was lucky enough to work with a great team of people. The senior engineers were great, they took the time to bring me up to speed with the trains, how each system worked, how to fault find and the contractual side of the business (i.e. warranty claims). I'd spend most nights at home reading train manuals so that I'd know what I was doing.
Off-the-Tools
After three years I'd become one of the top warranty technicians on the project. In my mind I'd served my time on the tools and felt ready for the next step. I wanted to go down the engineering route as opposed to a supervisory or managerial role but also wanted to move closer to Manchester, where I grew up.
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I was offered an office-based engineering position at Merseyrail in Liverpool. Again, I had another steep learning curve here. I'd been working on a brand new train fleet but Merseyrail operated one of the oldest train fleets in the country. Old trains work very differently to modern trains so again I would spend my evenings reading old British Rail train manuals to understand how these old train systems worked.
Consulting
After three years at Merseyrail I moved on and began working for a Derby based engineering consultancy as a Senior Electrical Engineer. This was great! I got to work on a variety of different projects, different train types, different systems, upgrades, modifications, refurbishments etc. This gave me a much deeper understanding of the industry.
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I now run my own independent rolling stock consultancy, Trevally Engineering, which allows me the free-time to pursue some of my other passions. The main one being motorcycle adventure expeditions but that's a whole different story!
Why Training?
My aim was to create the course I would have wanted when I left the forces before I started to work on trains. I want to reduce the learning curve for people transitioning from the military to trains. On top of this I want to give people the tools that will help them get a job. Every stage of the process, from how to research rail companies to tips/techniques for the job interview.
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You don't need this course...I'd be a hypocrite to tell anyone that they did, when I didn't have it! That said, the early stages of my career would have been made a lot easier if I'd had a training course like this. The course is designed for people who want to increase their chances of getting a job and walk into a new industry with a base level understanding of how various train systems work and how the industry is structured (which is a lot more complex than most people realise!).
Why Me?
I've worked in this industry, on trains, for over 14 years. I've worked for train operators, train manufacturers, consultancies and in conjunction with the entire supply chain. I've had a range of different jobs from 'on the tools' conducting day-to-day examinations of trains, fault finding, commissioning, type testing, technical authoring, design, scrutinisation, through to designing & implementing performance enhancing modifications to entire train fleets.
I have worked on a wide variety of train fleets (Electric and Diesel); from brand new state of the art software controlled trains to trains built by British Rail in the 1970's and most things in-between.
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My 'Introduction to Rolling Stock' video course contains a huge amount of technical information collected through years of 'on-the-job' experience. However, on top of this you'll also get my own personal experience, advice and opinions.
