Signalling technician

Signalling technicians maintain and repair rail telecommunications equipment and signalling systems.
Salary range: £14,000 to £40,000
How to become a signalling technician
You can get into this job through:
- an apprenticeship
- applying directly
Apprenticeship
You could get into this job through a rail engineering technician advanced apprenticeship or an advanced apprenticeship in rail infrastructure engineering: signalling.
You could also do a higher apprenticeship for high speed rail and infrastructure technicians.
Apprenticeships are offered by rail engineering companies, Transport for London and Network Rail.
Entry requirements
You’ll usually need:
- 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship
- 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and A levels, or equivalent, for a higher or degree apprenticeship
More information
- equivalent entry requirements
- guide to apprenticeships
- Transport for London apprenticeships
- Network Rail apprenticeships
Direct application
You may be able to apply directly to rail engineering companies if you’ve got experience and qualifications in electrical or electronic engineering from another industry, or from the armed forces.
More information
Professional and industry bodies
You can apply to join the Institution of Railway Signal Engineers, which offers professional development training to its members.
Further information
You can find out more about careers in the rail industry from Network Rail and Tomorrow’s Engineers.
What it takes
Skills and knowledge
You’ll need:
- to be thorough and pay attention to detail
- knowledge of transport methods, costs and benefits
- patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
- the ability to accept criticism and work well under pressure
- the ability to work well with others
- to be flexible and open to change
- physical skills like movement, coordination, dexterity and grace
- knowledge of public safety and security
- to be able to carry out basic tasks on a computer or hand-held device
What you’ll do
Day-to-day tasks
Your day-to-day tasks may include:
- 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 more complex faults back in the workshop
Working environment
You could work on rail tracks, in a control room or in a workshop.
Your working environment may be outdoors some of the time, you’ll travel often and noisy.
You may need to wear protective clothing.
Career path and progression
With experience, you could move from junior to senior technician jobs and take on team leading responsibilities.
With more qualifications and experience you could become a signalling designer or incident investigator.
©opyright The CV Writer
The career profiles database is designed to compliment the sreries of five Career Advice Guides. Providing information covering the qualifications, skills, expertise and an overview of the responsibilites required for each job role that you can use to build your CV, application letters, application forms and that all important job interview.

For a more detailed description of what’s included in the pack click here
By placing your order with The CV Writer you agree to our Terms and Conditions in full.