Based on some of those who get through initial recruitment, but then fail to make the grade at a later stage, there’s definitely still an issue around selecting the
right candidates from the multitudes who apply.
Inevitably small recruitment teams have their work cut out and this proposed change would only add to the numbers they have to whittle down. I gather they’re also consulting on raising the maximum number of attempts at the aptitude tests, which will increase numbers of potentially weaker applicants still further.
It’s difficult to see what the point of these proposals is (beyond my cynical suggestions above
) and I wonder whether they’ve been thought through at all.
Agree with the above.
In general terms I’m in two minds. There are certainly young people who would make excellent drivers. There are also some who will be absolutely awful, just like at any age group (either in terms of ability, and/or attitude). However my concern is there’s a cohort in the middle who might make good drivers once they’ve matured a little, but in earlier years will be a problem, lacking the maturity that exposure to adult life brings.
How are we going to ensure that this middle group don’t end up in the grade too soon; and end up being either a problem or a liability, or at the very least waste a lot of scarce training resource that could be directed elsewhere? In essence, where is there the opportunity for them to demonstrate competence, maturity, good judgement (etc etc etc) in a working environment? Currently anyone wanting to go down the driver route can demonstrate themselves in other roles, like station staff, guard, or even working a refreshment trolley. Even basic stuff like attendance, timekeeping, et cetera.
I can envisage a lot of “look at me I’m a train driver on 70k” tags on Facebook, as plenty of people will be attracted by the money. Those that *really* want to do it won’t be put off by having to spend a couple of years in another role first, and would then of course will have already learned a bit about the railway which then stands them in good stead.
In short, whilst I don’t doubt there’s some people for whom this would work well, I’m quite sure there’s a larger number for whom this would prove to be a problem. And I suspect it may well be a significantly larger proportion that fall into this second group, which would make the whole thing far more trouble than it’s worth.
In fact, it could be entirely counter-productive as we could end up seeing a load of youngsters come crashing out for whatever reasons (not getting through the training, not passing probation due to behavioural issues, having incidents, etc) who might actually have been very good drivers a few years down the road.
But what do we know, driving a train is just pressing go / stop isn’t it?
