How I got a Job in the Railway

I served six 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 my 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.

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.

I PVR'd (Premature Voluntary Release) from the RAF and 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 and Interview techniques. 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". I remember thinking...it's true you really do get what you pay for.

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 people's resettlement money than offering jobs.

Update: After speaking with the CTP I have been told that they no longer allow training providers to attend the CTP Employment Fairs.

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 and maintains trains.

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 nothing, I really mean nothing...I didn't even travel on trains!

My first six months in the industry were tough; the learning curve from maintaining weapons systems to trains was steep! I was lucky enough to work with a great team of people. The senior engineers 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 and how to deal with the customer). I'd spend most nights at home reading train manuals so that I'd know what I was doing.

I've worked in this industry, on trains, for over 14 years now. 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, approvals, scrutinisation, through to designing & implementing performance enhancing modifications to entire train fleets.

Today I’d best describe myself as a freelance engineering consultant. I take on small projects myself or provide technical support to much larger projects, such as new fleet introduction, major modifications, refurbishments and fleet overhauls.

The rail industry is far from perfect but I believe it’s a great option for ex-forces. There’s a whole range of different opportunities; so much more than you’d imagine at first glance. It’s well paid, relatively easy to transition into and has a lot of similarities to the military.

If you’re leaving the forces and thinking about a job in the railway please get in touch with me, I’m more than happy to answer any of your questions. Just send me a direct message on LinkedIn.

Contact me