I got a reply email within a few hours.
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Are there any Eurotunnel trainee train drivers out there?
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12:15 arrival on Tuesday, 07/05/2013 Good luck today, would be nice to hear how the tests are etc??
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Oh and i am there on thursday 9/5/2013
Was a generally enjoyable day really!
Rocked up at 11:50 (drove from Bedfordshire so not a bad run). Made a bit of a mistake - Ended up going to the passenger toll gates (thats where the postcode goes) you actually want the service entrance, opposite a place called Trux Hall (https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=Tr...+Rd,+Folkestone+CT18+8AP,+United+Kingdom&z=16)
Once in, they took my ID and exchanged it for a visitor pass. People rocked up from then until 12:40, at 12:50 they got us all into a bus and we drove to the driver centre. Very friendly examiners, the driver manager and performance manager (along with a couple of girls from HR) conducted the tests. Our group had about 18 people so they split us up into two rooms.
First test was the DFFT - Theres about 20 examples in the question book they give you, I managed to get part way through question 12. The trains with 2 or more faults start on about exercise 5 so worth making sure you can prioritise them! PASSED!
Once the test was over they sent us back downstairs then called about 8 people out, those were the ones that had failed and were allowed to leave.
Second test was the memory test and the prioritising the gauges test... I was fairly confident with the memory test, out of the 18 questions I am sure I got 17. The paragraph is read out by a tape, then you're allowed to read it, then you're allowed 5 minutes note-taking. After that theres 5 minutes sat in silence, then the answer books come out with the 18 questions in. PASSED
The gauges test directly follows this, you have 3 examples to go through then its straight on. Managed to do over half of these (think you had 8 minutes to do 43 questions). PASSED
Finally its the group bourdon - MUCH easier than the computer version, this is done with a pencil by hand. Only disadvantage is it is marked via a carbon copy sheet behind it so you spend a little extra time making sure you press hard every time you mark it! Theres 5 sheets, probably about 300 cells per sheet. I'd say we were given about a minute per sheet. Managed to get about 2/3 down each page. Best thing is that the dots are spaced much more clearly than the on-screen version, and there are much more of the dots arranged in a square or diamond pattern than Y's and T's etc. PASSED
Back to do structured interview and coordination tests next Thursday!
Good luck!
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Great bit of info. Has definately settled the nerves a little knowing what im up against. Congratulations!!
I currently work on site, so the getting on site part will not be new to me. Just a couple of questions,
How many passed through the whole day?
What "clobber" did you go in? I was thinking suite and tie, but i think im going to go trousers, shirt and tie.
Thanks again.
I currently work on site, so the getting on site part will not be new to me. Just a couple of questions,
How many passed through the whole day?
What "clobber" did you go in? I was thinking suite and tie, but i think im going to go trousers, shirt and tie.
Thanks again.
Thanks!
Around 18 of us started, 4 left at at the end... The first test seemed to sort the men from the boys, only left 8 of us to sit the remaining 3 tests. The Group Bourdon sifted the last 4.
I wouldn't panic though, the instructions are read out very clearly and in plenty of time. There's plenty of opportunity to ask questions, and they even check your examples and help you out if you get them wrong or are a bit slow. The pace was very relaxing, it doesnt take the 5 hours quoted (only took us 3, I was on the road again by 16:15).
Suit and tie is a safe bet, about half of us were in that sort of gear. Most informal I saw was black shirt with black jeans and brown shoes... That particular guy was still there at the end and was invited back, so as long as you werent planning on jogging bottoms and sandals I think you'll be alright!!!
Best of luck, let us know the outcome!
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Plonk
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Best of luck. Out of interest what are the shift patterns like?
Beveridges
Established Member
Is this the role for driving those 9500 horsepower class 9/7 tri bo locos?
Went to stage 1 assessment today - out of about 16 of us 5 or 6 passed.
Was told 12 positions for trainee train driver.
G104S7 - how did your stage 2 go today?
Stage 2 for me is the 16th, Thursday!
The info we were given on the process was as follows:
As of 08/05/13 there were 3,500 applicants, by Midday another 175 application packs had been released.
Of the 3,500 applicants so far 300 were invited for testing.
They were forecasting around 2% of the total applicants (equal to 23% of the tested applicants) to be accepted through to second stage (70 people).
12 positions are available (as stated by Davehopp)... Got a 17% chance of getting a position if you can satisfy them on stage 2!
carriageline
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I didn't apply in the end, as I have a holiday in September, and they said no holidays between July and December
I heard back with an assessment within a week of sending it back
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Hey Guys,
Failed the CBI - It's a beast!!!! More on that in a minute...
The day started promptly at 8:15, 16 people around (8 for Stage 1). Started by filling out the questions for the CBI - As mentioned in a million other posts about this, watch what you put down because the grilling is colossal...
Took about 30 minutes per person after that to do the Reaction and Coordination test (Take a book or your phone charger!). A cheeky tip on that is to go fairly slowly on the first test run, as the examiner will offer you a second run after the system prompts you to get the attention of the examiner. I wasn't planning on testing that theory out, but it took most of the first practise to get to know where everything is so it helps either way.
Then lots of sitting around, and getting called for the CBI... It is as horrible as they say; some of the questions are really simple, and if you go off on a tangent and dont keep the answer specific to what YOU did, then you'll get abruptly halted and the question will be repeated and your previous sentence ignored until you come up with something worth putting down... The way my particular examiner conducted herself was pretty in your face and rude, but I guess thats how its supposed to be - I was under more pressure to satisfy her by taking random guesses at what she wanted than actually thinking about my answer... Didn't enjoy it at all!
Failed on the last section, a section about a situation where I was alone for long periods of time...
2 people made it from the 8 being tested, all the way to the Euro Tunnel HR interview. Hope they get it, it's a gruelling process!!!
For me it was a good experience, well worth the practise. Shame to have gotten so far and driven so far but more importantly I learnt a lot.
Quick note - I'm VERY jealous of anyone that gets a job. The guys at Euro Tunnel are extremely kind, it's like a big family. Everyone offers to buy you coffee, and they all stop to quiz the group and wish you luck. Very civilised place, quite frankly I am gutted to miss out on what seems like a really pleasant environment to work in.
Best of luck to those attending over the coming days!
Failed the CBI - It's a beast!!!! More on that in a minute...
The day started promptly at 8:15, 16 people around (8 for Stage 1). Started by filling out the questions for the CBI - As mentioned in a million other posts about this, watch what you put down because the grilling is colossal...
Took about 30 minutes per person after that to do the Reaction and Coordination test (Take a book or your phone charger!). A cheeky tip on that is to go fairly slowly on the first test run, as the examiner will offer you a second run after the system prompts you to get the attention of the examiner. I wasn't planning on testing that theory out, but it took most of the first practise to get to know where everything is so it helps either way.
Then lots of sitting around, and getting called for the CBI... It is as horrible as they say; some of the questions are really simple, and if you go off on a tangent and dont keep the answer specific to what YOU did, then you'll get abruptly halted and the question will be repeated and your previous sentence ignored until you come up with something worth putting down... The way my particular examiner conducted herself was pretty in your face and rude, but I guess thats how its supposed to be - I was under more pressure to satisfy her by taking random guesses at what she wanted than actually thinking about my answer... Didn't enjoy it at all!
Failed on the last section, a section about a situation where I was alone for long periods of time...
2 people made it from the 8 being tested, all the way to the Euro Tunnel HR interview. Hope they get it, it's a gruelling process!!!
For me it was a good experience, well worth the practise. Shame to have gotten so far and driven so far but more importantly I learnt a lot.
Quick note - I'm VERY jealous of anyone that gets a job. The guys at Euro Tunnel are extremely kind, it's like a big family. Everyone offers to buy you coffee, and they all stop to quiz the group and wish you luck. Very civilised place, quite frankly I am gutted to miss out on what seems like a really pleasant environment to work in.
Best of luck to those attending over the coming days!
That's really bad luck, but like you say great experience and you can apply next time they advertise.
I have my stage 2 in a couple of weeks, I keep hearing the first interview is reallly tough.
What other questions does she ask?
I know you must be gutted not to have got any further and wouldn't blame you if you didn't want to talk about it!
Thanks G104S7
I have my stage 2 in a couple of weeks, I keep hearing the first interview is reallly tough.
What other questions does she ask?
I know you must be gutted not to have got any further and wouldn't blame you if you didn't want to talk about it!
Thanks G104S7
All the info on the CBI can be found in this post; It was the same questions. HERE
If I were to take it another time, here's how I'd improve:
1). Practise explaining the answers to each question, both a first and second, possibly even a third option.
2). Make sure I had sentences ready that included the key words, she called them "Indicators". It's my guess that they really dont care what you did just as long as you can involve these characteristics they are looking for.
3). Take some water!!! It was (for me) a 1 hr 25 minute interrogation effectively!
If I were to take it another time, here's how I'd improve:
1). Practise explaining the answers to each question, both a first and second, possibly even a third option.
2). Make sure I had sentences ready that included the key words, she called them "Indicators". It's my guess that they really dont care what you did just as long as you can involve these characteristics they are looking for.
3). Take some water!!! It was (for me) a 1 hr 25 minute interrogation effectively!
CBI = Competency Based Interview or can be called a Structured Interview
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I too can agree with the above, However, didn't you fail on the working alone question? I too failed on the same question, which was bizarre as i've been working alone for many years, therefore i agree with researching the keywords that they look for in such questions. Its not so much about the answer you give, its about the answers you give to your answer to the question you were given.
Since the 'name a time when you worked alone for long periods of time ' was the final question and i like you was very tired and thirsty, i thought this was the easiest question, i think this is where it trips up alot of people. all 4 from my group failed this interview, however i believed everyone of them were adequate of doing the job successfully.
Thanks for the info G104S7 I'll let you know how I get on!
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Search 4 - why do you think you failed on that question about working alone?
I spent more time on the other questions and really did not think that this question would have been a problem, I should have gave a few examples and emphasized on the level of responsibility and achievement of working alone. Again for next time i will certainly endevour to find out what are the key words they are looking for in an answer so that i can base my answers around that. I think the key words they seek must all be of a positive, proactive and with a safety based behavior.
good luck and prepare well.
The Group Boredom Test is on paper and is alot easier than the computer version.
The reaction test is exactly as the one available to download from this forum.
The other tests are pretty much the same as the material they sent you to study.
Totally agree with Search4. I've been flying gliders both recreationally and as an instructor for the last 6 years, and regularly take recreational flights of 8 hours+ solo, having to navigate, fly the aircraft, speak to airfields, communicate with other gliders, obey laws and rules of the air etc etc etc... Unfortunately, being only 22 I've not got much experience working alone - I work in a warehouse alone for 2 hours every weekend but that's about it (and my only "real" job to date), not really enough to warrant them letting me loose on their trains for an entire shift! Was rather hoping the gliding experience would work, my assumption in hindsight is that I missed out too many key words whilst still trying to explain to her that it's quite a complicated process, from the moment the wheels start rolling on take-off to the minute they stop when you land! I fell into the trap several times of wandering off topic trying to explain the theory of how gliders work so she could understand my answer in enough detail, but being abruptly stopped and promptly re-issued with the same question in a firmer and firmer tone - Which was starting to become highly annoying when the last question finally came.
Oh well - One thing they did mention is that they personally won't make you do the tests you passed should you choose to reapply on a future occasion. Whether this is true for other TOC's I couldn't say.
Oh well - One thing they did mention is that they personally won't make you do the tests you passed should you choose to reapply on a future occasion. Whether this is true for other TOC's I couldn't say.
good luck to anybody else going to the assessments, sent my application pack back on the 7 of may and haven't heard anything back since, so I wont hold my breath, at least some have had the experience of going through the process which should stand you in good stead for the future
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