Civil Engineering Summer Placement
A Civil Engineering Summer Placement with Network Rail will offer you a breadth and depth of exposure to civil engineering works that you won’t get anywhere else. This is a golden opportunity to immerse yourself in a national organisation, to work on strategic projects from day one, and to gain an overall picture of the important day-to-day work which Network Rail carries out. The practical knowledge that you build will help you in your degree and, if all goes well, you could be ear-marked for our graduate scheme.
What will it involve?
Work Placements
Asset Management
Delivery
Support and Guidance
How much will I get paid?
What qualifications will I need?
What’s the application process?
What will it involve?
Placements will last between 10 and 12 weeks, and be based within one of six locations: Swindon, London, York, Birmingham/Manchester and Glasgow. On being offered a place, you’ll be able to specify your preferred location.
The placement will start with an induction course at our national training centre near Warwick. This will be a general induction about the business, an overview of the programme, and the objectives of a placement. It’s a great chance to meet other students on the course, before getting settled in your chosen territory. You’ll also be assigned a mentor and buddy who will oversee your programme and act as a useful point of contact throughout the placement and your final year at University.
Work Placements
You’ll be based in the Civil Engineering Function, either in Asset Management within the stewardship team, or Infrastructure Investment within the project delivery team.
Asset Management
Working alongside a Civil Engineer, you’ll examine, inspect and assess structures within Network Rail’s infrastructure, which could be anything from bridges and embankments to tunnels, cuttings, culverts, sea and river defences and retaining walls. It’s a process that we carry out every year to ensure that the assets remain safe and fit for purpose and that line closures and speed restrictions are kept to a minimum.
Writing reports and making recommendations to Asset Stewards (who then assess and scope any structural improvements), you’ll gain first-hand knowledge of how bridges are constructed (for example), how they work, how they deteriorate and so on. It’s the kind of rare insight you just won’t find anywhere else.
Opportunities may be available for suitable candidates to experience track engineering with a wide range of management activities including remote monitoring, surveying, problem-solving and programme management.
Delivery
Once a remit has been received from an Asset Steward, a schedule of work is determined. At this stage, Project Engineers approve the designs, Site Managers manage the quality and specifications of the work and Project Managers look after the financial elements and work schedules. Placement students will spend time in all three functions, where you’ll be invited to review designs and make comments. As you might imagine, you’ll be overseen by the Project Engineer who’ll then train you on what you’ll need to look for, and why. Visiting sites and observing how Site Management operates, you’ll also review planning, obtain funding and plenty more besides. In essence, this is a real chance to witness – first hand – the full cycle of activities that is railway Civil Engineering.
Support and Guidance
Regular feedback, involvement in live projects, and a genuine place on the team, are key features of this programme. Halfway through, you’ll be able to meet up with the other students and get involved in skills building and team-working events. You’ll also have the chance to meet some of our recent graduates, as well as other engineers across the business, to get a flavour of graduate life at Network Rail. At the end of the scheme, you’ll receive a review and a personalised action plan, and your buddy will offer you guidance and useful advice throughout your final term.
How much will I get paid?
You’ll receive £250 a week, and a further £3,000 if (and when) you join the graduate scheme.
What qualifications will I need?
A penultimate-year student, you’ll be on target to gain a 2:1 from either an MEng or a BEng approved course. Importantly, you’ll have a strong academic background and be focused on developing your career as a civil engineer.
What’s the application process?
First off, you’ll need to email your CV and a covering letter to civilplacements@networkrailgraduates.co.uk If successful, you’ll be invited to an interview in early March which will consist of a one-to-one session with a line manager, as well as a presentation (on a subject that you’ll be informed of nearer the time) at our London offices. You’ll know if you’ve been successful by the end of March