Morning,
Firstly to establish: I don't normally post here, but I've been following this thread for a couple of years now as I too got dumped in the 'talent pool' for a FGW depot a long time ago and I like to see what's going on. Fortunately, I received an offer elsewhere and am now out and about. I acknowledge that I don't work for FGW so have no idea of the internal goings-on (trust me they're all the same once the rose tinted glasses are removed), and I'm not posting here to 'scaremonger' you all or spread dirty rumours, so take this with as much of a pinch of salt as you want to, however:
Rumours of course cancellations could well be true. With the recent events in the Steel industry there is quite a chance that yet more freight men will be out of work in the near future. That doesn't just mean those up North as the steel supply chain spreads across the country and many depots service it, including those on FGWs doorstep. Also, following the recent DBS redundancies some of their guys are proactively heading South to avoid future cuts, and they're going internal depot transfers, other FOCs and over to TOCs too.
These are dark times. Yes there are opportunities out there and the TOCs do seem to be continually recruiting in small batches, so don't loose all hope, just don't be pinning your hopes all on FGW.
Best advice I can give is to keep looking for other Trainee posts and applying for them, even if it means you have to relocate! I appreciate that's no mean feat for everyone, but consider circa £45k for FGW in one of the most expensive parts of the country, or circa £48k for FTPE (this is just a basic example).
Best of Luck to you all.
5TR4NG3
Firstly to establish: I don't normally post here, but I've been following this thread for a couple of years now as I too got dumped in the 'talent pool' for a FGW depot a long time ago and I like to see what's going on. Fortunately, I received an offer elsewhere and am now out and about. I acknowledge that I don't work for FGW so have no idea of the internal goings-on (trust me they're all the same once the rose tinted glasses are removed), and I'm not posting here to 'scaremonger' you all or spread dirty rumours, so take this with as much of a pinch of salt as you want to, however:
Rumours of course cancellations could well be true. With the recent events in the Steel industry there is quite a chance that yet more freight men will be out of work in the near future. That doesn't just mean those up North as the steel supply chain spreads across the country and many depots service it, including those on FGWs doorstep. Also, following the recent DBS redundancies some of their guys are proactively heading South to avoid future cuts, and they're going internal depot transfers, other FOCs and over to TOCs too.
These are dark times. Yes there are opportunities out there and the TOCs do seem to be continually recruiting in small batches, so don't loose all hope, just don't be pinning your hopes all on FGW.
Best advice I can give is to keep looking for other Trainee posts and applying for them, even if it means you have to relocate! I appreciate that's no mean feat for everyone, but consider circa £45k for FGW in one of the most expensive parts of the country, or circa £48k for FTPE (this is just a basic example).
Best of Luck to you all.
5TR4NG3
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