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A career as a signaller

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R

RailUK Forums

Joined
22 Jan 2025
Messages
8
Location
West Lothian
Hi all,

I've noticed that there has been a massive decline is posts being advertised. Also I've been waiting in a pool for a considerable time now.

Does anyone know if there is an unofficial recruitment freeze for signallers?
 

bouff34

Member
Joined
6 Nov 2018
Messages
183
Hi all,

I've noticed that there has been a massive decline is posts being advertised. Also I've been waiting in a pool for a considerable time now.

Does anyone know if there is an unofficial recruitment freeze for signallers?
No that I'm aware of but I think in some areas too many pool signallers have been recruited and they are still all trying to find vacant roles post IST...
 

amalek

Member
Joined
19 May 2025
Messages
32
Location
London
Hi all

After completing the final interview I have been informed I have been put into a talent pool. I emailed for feedback and was told that I met all the criteria but unfortunately they didn't have any vacancies. (Weird because I applied for a job with 4 positions available.) When checking the application portal it says my next stage is "Offer". Is this normal? Would love to hear back from people who have been on a talent pool or still are.
 

ZackCulross

Member
Joined
9 Oct 2016
Messages
197
Location
Edinburgh
Hi all

After completing the final interview I have been informed I have been put into a talent pool. I emailed for feedback and was told that I met all the criteria but unfortunately they didn't have any vacancies. (Weird because I applied for a job with 4 positions available.) When checking the application portal it says my next stage is "Offer". Is this normal? Would love to hear back from people who have been on a talent pool or still are.
Yeah they tend to do that if filling internal or waiting on IST places

I'm in a 12 month talent pool for edinburgh and was placed in it in February.
 

Ryan15

New Member
Joined
12 Feb 2025
Messages
4
Location
Fife
Hi all

After completing the final interview I have been informed I have been put into a talent pool. I emailed for feedback and was told that I met all the criteria but unfortunately they didn't have any vacancies. (Weird because I applied for a job with 4 positions available.) When checking the application portal it says my next stage is "Offer". Is this normal? Would love to hear back from people who have been on a talent pool or still are.
Hiya amalek,

Personally I was put in the pool back in March, and at the end of May I received the call offering me a position, the talent pool is a good place to be :)
 

amalek

Member
Joined
19 May 2025
Messages
32
Location
London
Yeah they tend to do that if filling internal or waiting on IST places

I'm in a 12 month talent pool for edinburgh and was placed in it in February.
Hopefully you'll get a call soon mate. Reading this forum seems like most people on the talent pool end up with a call.

Hiya amalek,

Personally I was put in the pool back in March, and at the end of May I received the call offering me a position, the talent pool is a good place to be :)
Thanks for the insight Mate. Definitely better than hearing a no.
 

StandardTom

Member
Joined
26 Mar 2020
Messages
9
Location
Northants, UK
Hi all

After completing the final interview I have been informed I have been put into a talent pool. I emailed for feedback and was told that I met all the criteria but unfortunately they didn't have any vacancies. (Weird because I applied for a job with 4 positions available.) When checking the application portal it says my next stage is "Offer". Is this normal? Would love to hear back from people who have been on a talent pool or still are.

I had my final interview for the Rugby positions that are coming up this year in May and was put into the Talent Pool around a month ago. At the assessment day they said that there were 7 or 8 positions becoming available and i would estimate that there was about 15 of us there. It seems to me that maybe everyone who was successful was put into the Talent Pool and they will offer jobs when IST dates are known. Otherwise, more than 8 of the 15 people were successful, which seems quite high.

As others have said though, the Talent Pool seems like a good place to be so fingers crossed we have a positive outcome!
 

CoachB

Member
Joined
10 Jun 2022
Messages
128
Location
Scotland
I had my final interview for the Rugby positions that are coming up this year in May and was put into the Talent Pool around a month ago. At the assessment day they said that there were 7 or 8 positions becoming available and i would estimate that there was about 15 of us there. It seems to me that maybe everyone who was successful was put into the Talent Pool and they will offer jobs when IST dates are known. Otherwise, more than 8 of the 15 people were successful, which seems quite high.

As others have said though, the Talent Pool seems like a good place to be so fingers crossed we have a positive outcome!
You'd be surprised as areas have taken on and sent 8 new starters off to IST all at once before so it's not unheard of.

As for the talent pool if you've scored well in the interview they'll put you in it as they normally interview double the number of positions they're looking for and to get to that stage is an achievement in itself.

They have to prepare for every eventually as some of the new hires might not make it through the pre-employment checks, might fail IST or in some cases decide the jobs not for them and pull out. There's also the fact they might have other existing signallers moving location or deciding to retire in the near future. It's better to have a healthy pool of candidates that you could quickly pick from than going through the lengthy recruitment process again.
 

vit

New Member
Joined
23 Jun 2025
Messages
3
Location
Croydon
Hey! Anyone applied for Ely CB7 G2 Trainee recently? Passed Online Assessment and interview.
One day after got email saying to wait for a slot on assessment centre.
 

sivi555

New Member
Joined
24 Jun 2025
Messages
1
Location
Crawley
Hey! Anyone applied for Ely CB7 G2 Trainee recently? Passed Online Assessment and interview.
One day after got email saying to wait for a slot on assessment centre.
Applied for Three Bridges, this my experience too. Have been waiting for Assessment Centre email since the beginning of June. I guess this isnt a positive sign, fingers crossed though.
 

macmed94

Member
Joined
3 Sep 2024
Messages
18
Location
London
Hi,

I’ve done the interview on the 10th June and it said “assessment 2 pending” and then 9 days later it changed to application unsuccessful, I then got an email letting me know I’ve been unsuccessful, so I requested a feedback.

I then got an email today saying there’s been a mistake and that I’m still under consideration and that I’ll get an answer very soon, my online status then changed to “assessment 2 completed” from “application unsuccessful”

Assuming they held a panel on the 19th to assess who to hire and what not, and I was assessed, deemed not good enough and now I’m being told I’m still under consideration, is it fair to assume that I’ve gotten the job but now I’m waiting for HR call?

I ask because I’m under the assumption they’re not gonna hold another panel to see who to hire as they’ve done that on the 19th, also for this role they’re hiring several applicants and it won’t start till 5th sept, it’s a platform assistant role
 

henke7

Member
Joined
13 Sep 2018
Messages
232
Keep an eye out for ‘reassigned to new vacancy’ usually means you have got the job. Well it did in my experience anyway.
 
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macmed94

Member
Joined
3 Sep 2024
Messages
18
Location
London
Hi all

After completing the final interview I have been informed I have been put into a talent pool. I emailed for feedback and was told that I met all the criteria but unfortunately they didn't have any vacancies. (Weird because I applied for a job with 4 positions available.) When checking the application portal it says my next stage is "Offer". Is this normal? Would love to hear back from people who have been on a talent pool or still are.
prior to it saying an offer, what did it say? Did it say assessment 2 conpleted and then you got a phone call to let you know you’ve been placed in talent pool/email and then it changed to offer on your application?
 

Locky

Member
Joined
6 Feb 2025
Messages
43
Location
Scotland
Hi,

I’ve done the interview on the 10th June and it said “assessment 2 pending” and then 9 days later it changed to application unsuccessful, I then got an email letting me know I’ve been unsuccessful, so I requested a feedback.

I then got an email today saying there’s been a mistake and that I’m still under consideration and that I’ll get an answer very soon, my online status then changed to “assessment 2 completed” from “application unsuccessful”

Assuming they held a panel on the 19th to assess who to hire and what not, and I was assessed, deemed not good enough and now I’m being told I’m still under consideration, is it fair to assume that I’ve gotten the job but now I’m waiting for HR call?

I ask because I’m under the assumption they’re not gonna hold another panel to see who to hire as they’ve done that on the 19th, also for this role they’re hiring several applicants and it won’t start till 5th sept, it’s a platform assistant role
If I were you, I would just wait and see what happens. As I have gathered from other people, NR aren't always uniform when it comes to the application process. Also, you mentioned this is for a platform assistant role? it could be a different application process than a Signaller. There's bound to be a thread on this forum that's better suited to platform assistance roles
 

ZackCulross

Member
Joined
9 Oct 2016
Messages
197
Location
Edinburgh
prior to it saying an offer, what did it say? Did it say assessment 2 conpleted and then you got a phone call to let you know you’ve been placed in talent pool/email and then it changed to offer on your application?
From reading it, it's not a signaller application, sounds like a track side operation application.

Not sure why it's been merged into signaller thread as it was a standalone thread at first
 

md81

Member
Joined
25 Mar 2025
Messages
36
Location
derbyshire
yes the network rail operator jobs, and loads of others are all on LinkedIn, the signals and crossing keepers are just on indeed, and the network rail role search page
 

03judgel

New Member
Joined
26 Jun 2025
Messages
4
Location
Beverley
Hi, did anyone on here interview in York around the 15th may? I applied for the Bridlington position told I was successful but due to the number of available vacancies they cannot offer me a position so got placed in the talent pool on the 10th of June for 12 months. Does this mean I’ve met the standard but others have scored higher than me? As I’ve seen a few on here interviewed at York after me and got the call pretty soon after interview where as I was still waiting. Or is it area dependent?
 

CoachB

Member
Joined
10 Jun 2022
Messages
128
Location
Scotland
Hi, did anyone on here interview in York around the 15th may? I applied for the Bridlington position told I was successful but due to the number of available vacancies they cannot offer me a position so got placed in the talent pool on the 10th of June for 12 months. Does this mean I’ve met the standard but others have scored higher than me? As I’ve seen a few on here interviewed at York after me and got the call pretty soon after interview where as I was still waiting. Or is it area dependent?
To be placed in the talent pool it does mean you've met the standard required by network rail. However you are correct in thinking that someone scored higher than you hence why they got offered a job and you've been placed in the talent pool.

The talent pool is nothing to be disheartened about as plenty of people on here (including myself) have been called up from the talent pool and been offered jobs at a later date.
 

03judgel

New Member
Joined
26 Jun 2025
Messages
4
Location
Beverley
To be placed in the talent pool it does mean you've met the standard required by network rail. However you are correct in thinking that someone scored higher than you hence why they got offered a job and you've been placed in the talent pool.

The talent pool is nothing to be disheartened about as plenty of people on here (including myself) have been called up from the talent pool and been offered jobs at a later date.
Thank you, guess it’s just sit tight and hope for the call.
 

StaffsPM1

Member
Joined
7 Oct 2017
Messages
92
Same boat. Applied for Arundel and got through to assessment centre and still waiting for that... Passed the online bits and video interview. Emailing Ambertrack just literally repeats what the online page says, you're successful but we haven't released dates yet for next stage...
 

macmed94

Member
Joined
3 Sep 2024
Messages
18
Location
London
prior to it saying an offer, what did it say? Did it say assessment 2 conpleted and then you got a phone call to let you know you’ve been placed in talent pool/email and then it changed to offer on your application?
Just wanted to say, after 3 weeks since the interview and 6 days since my application was changed from “application unsuccessful” to “assessment 2 completed”

I got a pre offer this morning(it’s not a signaller role, mods combined my thread here)

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: ==

Keep an eye out for ‘reassigned to new vacancy’ usually means you have got the job. Well it did in my experience anyway.
What happens after this point? Do you get new updates on the system? Or should one be expecting a phone call etc?
 

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Locky

Member
Joined
6 Feb 2025
Messages
43
Location
Scotland
Just wanted to say, after 3 weeks since the interview and 6 days since my application was changed from “application unsuccessful” to “assessment 2 completed”

I got a pre offer this morning(it’s not a signaller role, mods combined my thread here)

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: ==


What happens after this point? Do you get new updates on the system? Or should one be expecting a phone call etc?
My Signaller application process was different to your Platform Assistant process by the looks of things. Even the email you received that you attached, looks a bit different to mine. I stand to be corrected by someone more experienced in this thread, but maybe there is a difference in the process.. In regards to your question, I would send the requested information to them(ID, employment history and DOB) and then, as it says in the email at the bottom, you will receive another email with an formal offer. You could receive a call from NR's recruitment team at some stage to set up your medical appointment and remember not to hand in your notice at your current workplace until you have succesfully passed the medical assessment. When NR called me to arrange my medical, she told me that people often resign from their current job before passing the medical. Bad idea :)

Also, well done and congratulations on getting this far! Fingers crossed everything goes well :)
 
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SimplyLovely

Member
Joined
21 Oct 2024
Messages
78
Location
Perthshire
Ok all, well aware I’m probably going to get ragged on for not knowing this but can anyone confirm the most up to date salaries for signallers?

I just got passed out and want to know what I will be making including the most recent pay deal, the contract I have was signed in November and I think there have been a couple of changes since then.
 

Kat 74

Member
Joined
3 Jun 2025
Messages
20
Location
Grimsby
Ok all, well aware I’m probably going to get ragged on for not knowing this but can anyone confirm the most up to date salaries for signallers?

I just got passed out and want to know what I will be making including the most recent pay deal, the contract I have was signed in November and I think there have been a couple of changes since then.
I'm sure there was a table of salaries of the various grades somewhere on here - I'll try find it. Have u just finished IST? Can I ask what was the take home pay while on the course as I know that's grade 2 basic pay as no shift allowance, etc while training.
 

SimplyLovely

Member
Joined
21 Oct 2024
Messages
78
Location
Perthshire
I'm sure there was a table of salaries of the various grades somewhere on here - I'll try find it. Have u just finished IST? Can I ask what was the take home pay while on the course as I know that's grade 2 basic pay as no shift allowance, etc while training.
Hiya, no finished IST in May, just finished my box training and verification last week so am finally on full salary.

Take home at IST was just under £2,000 for me but that was before the pay deal was agreed.
 

Swall

Member
Joined
2 Feb 2025
Messages
29
Location
Greater Manchester
Ok all, well aware I’m probably going to get ragged on for not knowing this but can anyone confirm the most up to date salaries for signallers?

I just got passed out and want to know what I will be making including the most recent pay deal, the contract I have was signed in November and I think there have been a couple of changes since then.
 

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