Any benefit to joining the railways in a non-driver position first?

[E&W Lucas]

Yes I do have specific knowledge of this altthough I prefer not to disclose the source or TOC. The figure of 51% is irrelevent as those were figures I plucked out of the air. The bottom line is with at least one TOC I am 100% sure of and others I have heard whispers about if an internal candidate scrapes through interview and assessments they will be offered the position over any external candidate.

I'll second the suggestion that this is nothing more than messroom hot air, most probably from those with nothing to do with driving or recruitment.

If a vac is opened up to external candidates, then they've as much chance as anyone else, as many of us who are actually drivers have proved.

 

[greatkingrat]

It is possible the internal candidate was at risk of redundancy? In that case they have to be offered the job if they meet the minimum criteria (even if another candidate scored higher).

 

[GB]

Its my understanding you cannot automatically get a promotion out of redundancy so the job (if it is suitably different, ie Guard to Driver) must be advertised.

 

[E&W Lucas]

It is possible the internal candidate was at risk of redundancy? In that case they have to be offered the job if they meet the minimum criteria (even if another candidate scored higher).

I've seen displaced employees "skills matched" with trainee driver vacs. From what I remember, they may have circumvented the application form sift, but certainly none emerged successfully out of the other end of the process.

 

[mw1967]

Hi all,

I'm in my early 40's and have got bitten by that 'screw the office, I want a new career as a train driver' bug.

I can see that its a long process. Im also getting the impression that theres still a lot of internal recruitment going on.

Ive been invited to an assessment for a 'Rail Operator 2' with South West. It would be a 50% drop in salary compared to what Im used to.

Is it worthwhile / advantageous to get into a TOC in any capacity to help get a job as a driver, or doesn't it matter? Would I be better off sticking with the office jobs as I go through the rejection (sorry selection) process?

Thanks!

My employer and Im sure many other TOCs advertise much of their vacancies internally first, and if its successfully filled then it won't go external at all. So for this reason alone I'd suggest that getting any job within the railway would give you access to vacancies that you otherwise won't be aware of.

 

[Mattmatt]

Thanks for everyones input so far, its much appreciated.

How long does it take on average to go from trainee salary to the full salary? Im assuming in MattMatt's case, it was 12 months?

with my TOC

You start on basic - this depends on where you've come from, as i came from a conductors role (within the same company) i started on the conductors basic wage of £25k- which is a struggle! (as i did a fair bit of rest day working & commission from tickets all added up) if you're off the street it's around £19k

You'll be on that wage for approx 12 months it then ups to around £35k and then incrementally up to the current wage which is approx £45k - there's not many TOC's which pay you the full wage straight away - even if you're qualified & move TOC's

You have to see it as an investment in your chosen career move - I'm at the point where I'm finishing off with an instructor and due to pass out just before Xmas & hopefully with a wage rise before Xmas! You have to play the long game on this - because the sheer amount of info of rules, traction & routes etc you have to learn is incredible. Since i've started I've been tested on my rules & traction several times.

 

[Cherry_Picker]

Does anyone know anything about a Customer Service Inspectors role? What the job involves? Is it purely station based? Shift hours? Supervising others and how much it pays??!! Any info greatly appreciated.

I can give a half baked answer as a CSI is a role at Chiltern who I know a little bit about. It's a revenue protection oriented guards job, most of your duties are based around enforcing ticketed travel be it on a barrier or on a train (I might be wrong but I think a CSI has control of the security staff working under them at Marylebone barrier) but you are also trained in guards duties and will act as the guard on certain trains.
CSI's work the bubble car from Aylesbury to Princes Risborough and the parly to London Paddington for example and unless things have changed they sign the route to Birmingham Snow Hill and work a couple of trains a day in the non DOO northern half of the Chiltern route which then enables them to cross cover work from depots where Train Managers ('traditional' guards) are based when needed, ie in the event of sickness or annual leave.
Not sure on the salary. If I had to guess then I'd say it's somewhere between £27k-£30k basic. I couldn't tell you how things like overtime, shift allowance & London weighting work (or if they even exist anymore).

 

[E&W Lucas]

My employer and Im sure many other TOCs advertise much of their vacancies internally first, and if its successfully filled then it won't go external at all. So for this reason alone I'd suggest that getting any job within the railway would give you access to vacancies that you otherwise won't be aware of.

So does mine (a major Inter City operator), but be careful when it comes to driving.
Whilst a company may usually only advertise trainee vacs internally, be aware of how many they actually recruit. Total recruitment over a very large geographical area over the last five or so years has been about ten trainees, who've successfully completed the training. That's ten jobs open only to internal trainees.

Meanwhile, even only at the London end, there have been literally hundreds of vacs open to anyone, across a variety of operators.

 

[atochopefull]

I can give a half baked answer as a CSI is a role at Chiltern who I know a little bit about. It's a revenue protection oriented guards job, most of your duties are based around enforcing ticketed travel be it on a barrier or on a train (I might be wrong but I think a CSI has control of the security staff working under them at Marylebone barrier) but you are also trained in guards duties and will act as the guard on certain trains.
CSI's work the bubble car from Aylesbury to Princes Risborough and the parly to London Paddington for example and unless things have changed they sign the route to Birmingham Snow Hill and work a couple of trains a day in the non DOO northern half of the Chiltern route which then enables them to cross cover work from depots where Train Managers ('traditional' guards) are based when needed, ie in the event of sickness or annual leave.
Not sure on the salary. If I had to guess then I'd say it's somewhere between £27k-£30k basic. I couldn't tell you how things like overtime, shift allowance & London weighting work (or if they even exist anymore).

That's really helpful. Thanks!