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Signalling technician

  • Hours

    35-40 per week

  • Starting salary

    £14,000 + per year



The work

Signalling technicians maintain the signalling systems on rail networks ensuring trains run safely. They also work with the telecommunications equipment that links different parts of the rail network to control centres.

As a signalling technician, your work would involve:

  • installing new signalling systems
  • carrying out routine maintenance checks
  • measuring and recording equipment test readings
  • upgrading radio and electronic communications networks
  • finding and fixing equipment faults on-site
  • repairing faults back in the workshop.

You would work from technical diagrams and use a range of electrical and computer-controlled instruments for testing and inspecting equipment. You would use hand and power tools to carry out maintenance and repair work.


Hours

You would usually work 35 to 40 hours a week, possibly on a shift system including nights and weekends.

You would spend your time either in a signal control centre, an engineering workshop, or outdoors, trackside. It is essential that you follow track safety procedures and use protective clothing and equipment at all times.

You would usually have to travel to different parts of the track network each day and overnight stays away from home may sometimes be necessary.


Income

  • Apprentices earn up to £14,000 a year, depending on the stage of training.
  • Experienced technicians can earn between £18,000 and £40,000 a year.

Overtime and other allowances can increase income, and free or reduced price rail travel is often added as an extra benefit.

Figures are intended as a guideline only.


Entry requirements

You could become a signalling technician by completing a rail engineering apprenticeship, or after gaining experience in another industry (or the armed forces) as a mechanical or electrical technician.

Apprenticeships are available with rail engineering companies, Network Rail, which is responsible for maintaining the country's railways, or with Tube Lines on the London Underground. To get on to a scheme, you would usually need four GCSEs (grades A-C), in subjects like English, maths, science and technology, or equivalent qualifications.

Your apprenticeship could take up to three years to complete and would lead to formal qualifications, including NVQ levels 2 and 3 in Railway Engineering and the Institute of Leadership and Management's Certificate in First Line Management.

Whilst training, you would be expected to work towards your Institution of Railway Signal Engineers (IRSE) licence. For more information, visit the IRSE Licensing website.

Your employer would also put you through the Personal Track Safety (PTS) course. On completion, you would be awarded a safety card, which you would need in order to work on the tracks. The PTS course is only available to workers employed by rail engineering companies and not to the general public.

For information about the PTS card and links to training providers, see the National Competency Control Agency website.

With a BTEC HNC/HND in electrical or electronic engineering, you could join Network Rail's Signal Engineering Conversion Programme. This is a seven to twelve month fully paid programme made up of residential training and work experience. Contact Network Rail for more details.

Sheffield Hallam University offer a part time Foundation Degree in Railway Engineering. The course has been developed with employers and is designed for employees already working in the industry.

You can find more details about careers in the rail industry on the GoSkills website.


Training and development

Once you are working in the industry, it is important that you continue to develop your skills and knowledge throughout your career.

As an IRSE member, you could take a range of continuing professional development (CPD) programmes, delivered through training courses, seminars and workshops. To find out more about membership and CPD options, visit the IRSE website.

With a Level 3 NVQ, you could improve your career prospects by registering as an Engineering Technician (EngTech). See the Engineering Council website for more details.


Skills and knowledge

  • good practical and technical skills
  • a methodical approach to work for finding faults
  • the ability to pay close attention to detail
  • a reasonable level of fitness
  • the ability to read technical diagrams
  • good computer and maths skills
  • strong written and spoken communication skills
  • good teamworking skills and the ability to work unsupervised
  • an awareness of health and safety.

More information

Network Rail (Opens new window)
Kings Place
90 York Way
London
N1 9AG
www.networkrail.co.uk

Northern Ireland Railways (Opens new window)
Human Resources Department
Central Station
East Bridge Street
Belfast
BT1 3PB
Tel: 028 9089 9400
www.nirailways.co.uk

National Competency Control Agency (Opens new window)
www.ncca-sentinel.co.uk

People 1st (Opens new window)
2nd Floor
Armstrong House
38 Market Square
Uxbridge
Middlesex
UB8 1LH
Tel: 01895 817 000
www.people1st.co.uk

Tomorrow's Engineers (Opens new window)
EngineeringUK
Weston House
246 High Holborn
London
WC1V 7EX
Email: careers@engineeringuk.com
Tel: 020 3206 0400
www.tomorrowsengineers.org.uk

Institution of Rail Signal Engineers (Opens new window)
4th Floor
1 Birdcage Walk
Westminster
London
SW1H 9JJ
Tel: 020 7808 1186
www.irse.org


Opportunities

Your main opportunities for employment would be with Network Rail and its various engineering sub-contractors, and the London Underground.

With experience, you could move from junior to senior technician jobs, with team leading responsibilities. With further qualifications and experience, you could become a signalling designer or incident investigator.

You may find the following useful for job vacancies and general reading: (links open in new window)

Job profiles are based on the latest information supplied to us by industry bodies, such as Sector Skills Councils. Please be aware that with the introduction of the Qualifications and Credit Framework (Opens in a new window) there has been, and will continue to be, changes to vocational qualifications. For more information, please check with industry bodies directly.

We do not accept responsibility for the content of external sites.


Related industry information

Industry summary

The rail industry is represented by People 1st, the Sector Skills Council for hospitality, passenger transport, travel and tourism. The passenger transport sector incorporates rail, aviation, bus and coach, taxi and private hire, light rail and metro, driver training, and UK waterways. The sector accounts for 735,000 jobs, most of which are within the bus and coach, taxi and private hire, rail, and aviation industries. The passenger transport sector includes a wide variety of roles, from pilots and transport planners, to essential support roles in finance, marketing and human resources.

The rail industry is one of the largest industries in the passenger transport sector incorporating rail operating services and rail engineering. Within train operating companies, the main jobs are customer focused, but there are many jobs in operations and service delivery. Engineering is a large part of the industry with engineers and technicians responsible for the rolling stock, the track (permanent way) and its surrounds, telecommunications and the electrification of the railway.

Key facts:

  • There are around 159,000 people working in the rail industry, of which:
    • 47,000 work for train operating companies
    • 112,000 work for Network Rail and in supplier and engineering companies
  • There are around 2,500 stations in the UK, of which 18 are managed by Network Rail.
  • The average age of employees is 39 years.
  • The average working hours for a rail industry employee are 37 per week.
  • Shift working is the norm within the industry.
  • Just 2% of the workforce is employed part‐time.
  • Trainee driver vacancies are competitive as there can be more than 300 applications for each job available.

Jobs in the industry fall into the following areas:

  • Rail operations (customer facing and service delivery) – such as train driver, station staff member, train crew member, control room operator, service planner, signaller, train manager, rail station assistant, conductor, gateline assistant
  • Engineering – such as engineer, technician, assistant engineer, technician manager, track maintenance worker, signalling technician, traction and rolling stock technician, rail engineering apprentice

National and regional data

[N.B. Regional data presented are for the rail industry and the passenger transport sector as a whole. Data derived from the Labour Force Survey, 2007.]

East Midlands – There are 3,100 people working in the rail industry in the region. In the passenger transport sector as whole, 14% of the workforce in the region is female. 14% of the workforce is from an ethnic minority background. 6% of the workforce is under 25 years, 62% is 26‐49 years and 32% is 50 years or older. Skill gaps include: foreign languages; vehicle maintenance and engineering; Welsh language; job related IT; and safety/accident management.

East of England – There are 4,400 people working in the rail industry in the region. In the passenger transport sector as whole, 25% of the workforce in the region is female. 9% of the workforce is from an ethnic minority background. 7% of the workforce is under 25 years, 52% is 26‐49 years and 41% is 50 years or older. Skill gaps include: foreign languages; job related IT; Welsh language; and vehicle maintenance and engineering.

London – There are 3,300 people working in the rail industry in the region. In the passenger transport sector as whole, 20% of the workforce in the region is female. 42% of the workforce is from an ethnic minority background. 4% of the workforce is under 25 years, 70% is 26‐49 years and 26% is 50 years or older. Skill gaps include: job related IT; foreign languages; safety/accident management; booking operations; and logistics and scheduling of services.

North East – There are 1,200 people working in the rail industry in the region. In the passenger transport sector as whole, 17% of the workforce in the region is female. 3% of the workforce is from an ethnic minority background. 8% of the workforce is under 25 years, 51% is 26‐49 years and 41% is 50 years or older. Skill gaps include: job related IT; foreign languages; vehicle maintenance and engineering; Welsh language; and safety/accident management.

North West – There are 6,500 people working in the rail industry in the region. In the passenger transport sector as whole, 16% of the workforce in the region is female. 14% of the workforce is from an ethnic minority background. 6% of the workforce is under 25 years, 61% is 26‐49 years and 33% is 50 years or older. Skill gaps include: foreign languages; disability awareness; Welsh language; and vehicle maintenance and engineering.

South East – There are 9,000 people working in the rail industry in the region. In the passenger transport sector as whole, 25% of the workforce in the region is female. 11% of the workforce is from an ethnic minority background. 6% of the workforce is under 25 years, 48% is 26‐49 years and 36% is 50 years or older. Skill gaps include: foreign languages; vehicle maintenance and engineering; and job related IT.

South West – There are 4,500 people working in the rail industry in the region. In the passenger transport sector as whole, 19% of the workforce in the region is female. 4% of the workforce is from an ethnic minority background. 4% of the workforce is under 25 years, 56% is 26‐49 years and 40% is 50 years or older. Skill gaps include: foreign languages; job related IT; and vehicle maintenance and engineering.

West Midlands – There are 4,300 people working in the rail industry in the region. In the passenger transport sector as whole, 19% of the workforce in the region is female. 27% of the workforce is from an ethnic minority background. 7% of the workforce is under 25 years, 65% is 26‐49 years and 28% is 50 years or older. Skill gaps include: job related IT; safety/accident management; foreign languages; maths/working with numbers; and disability awareness.

Yorkshire and the Humber – There are 5,800 people working in the rail industry in the region. In the passenger transport sector as whole, 13% of the workforce in the region is female. 18% of the workforce is from an ethnic minority background. 8% of the workforce is under 25 years, 62% is 26‐49 years and 30% is 50 years or older. Skill gaps include: foreign languages; vehicle maintenance and engineering; job related IT; and Welsh language.

Northern Ireland – There are 500 people working in the rail industry in the region. In the passenger transport sector as whole, 21% of the workforce in the region is female. Data are unavailable on the ethnicity of the workforce. 9% of the workforce is under 25 years, 74% is 26‐49 years and 17% is 50 years or older. Skill gaps include: foreign languages; safety/accident management; job related IT; and disability awareness.

Scotland – There 3,200 people working in the rail industry in the region. In the passenger transport sector as whole, 16% of the workforce in the region is female. 2% of the workforce is from an ethnic minority background. 8% of the workforce is under 25 years, 56% is 26‐49 years and 36% is 50 years or older. Skill gaps include: foreign languages; vehicle maintenance and engineering; and disability awareness.

Wales – There are 2,100 people working in the rail industry in the region. In the passenger transport sector as whole, 18% of the workforce in the region is female. 4% of the workforce is from an ethnic minority background. 8% of the workforce is under 25 years, 54% is 26‐49 years and 38% is 50 years or older. Skill gaps include: Welsh language; foreign languages; disability awareness; safety/accident management; job related IT; and vehicle maintenance and engineering.


Career paths


Further sources


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