General - Qualified Driver Recruitment Tests

[OpsWeb]

Hi All,

Just out of interest, when a TOC advertises for "Qualified Driver" vacancies, are applicants required to undertake any aptitude tests, or is it just a case of a manager's interview and medical?

I appreciate there is a "transfer of safety critical information" form and sometimes a 2/3/5 year experience requirement with some TOC's.

Thanks in advance for the info...

 

[WCMLaddict]

Depends on TOC/FOC, I remember some TOCs doing a quick rules test as well as aptitude tests on the interview day...

 

[E&W Lucas]

Why would you need to do an aptitude test, for a task that you have already demonstrated that you can perform?

Rules and generic traction question papers on interview day.

Don't forget the driving grade is a very small world. It's not hard to quietly find out if a candidate is actually a total muppet.

 

[Class2ldn]

First transpennine make drivers do the concentration tests again I believe.

 

[A-driver]

First transpennine make drivers do the concentration tests again I believe.

As do Virgin (or at least they did). Think it's more to reduce the numbers of applications. It certainly puts a number of qualified drivers off applying for them.

East Coast don't make qualifieds to tests again but take a different approach in not advertising for qualified drivers any more but relying on word of mouth when positions come up. You approach their managers with a CV if you wish to be considered.

 

[paulravuslante]

I recently went for an assessment at LOROL. This involved two tests, one computer based to test concentration; the other paper based and designed to check how one would react the certain situations by ordering the answers by preference. To be honest I think it was just a way to whittle down the number of applicants and save HR some work.

 

[TDK]

DRS make qualified driver pass an aptitude test, most TOC's/FOC's do not. You normally have a small test usually on PTS and then are given a couple of out of course working scenarios to solve and that is it. The most important thing by far if you are applying for a qualified drivers position is having a clean record of 5 years or more. This is the first thing any potential employers will look at.

 

[OpsWeb]

I guess it's common sense to have a clean safety record whenever thinking of applying to somewhere else. I guess no one wants "damaged goods"!

I know an ex-colleague who got a job with XC as a driver with only 18 months experience not so long ago! But i've also been told as a minimum companies look for 2-3 years clean driving experience! I suppose it depends on the TOC and how many drivers they need.

Interesting to see LOROL do "qualified driver tests". I always wondered what it would be like to work for them, so handy to know for future reference!

 

[TDK]

I guess it's common sense to have a clean safety record whenever thinking of applying to somewhere else. I guess no one wants "damaged goods"!

I know an ex-colleague who got a job with XC as a driver with only 18 months experience not so long ago! But i've also been told as a minimum companies look for 2-3 years clean driving experience! I suppose it depends on the TOC and how many drivers they need.

Interesting to see LOROL do "qualified driver tests". I always wondered what it would be like to work for them, so handy to know for future reference!

A TOC will always take a driver with a clean record for the longest period over anyone else, it is all down to the quality of the applicants, if you have say 20 applicants for a role and they all have some sort of operating incident on their record they will take someone on but it will certainly be the ones that have the longest incident free period.