Internal Trainee Train Driver recruitment prospects?

[PotentialTrain]

Hi all,

Like many people who search these forums it is a dream of mine to become a train driver. Due to the proximity of where I live there aren't many TOC's around that recruit for Trainee drivers. My question is do TOC's recruit for trainee drivers internally? My local TOC is EMT and I wonder if trying to get a job with them would give me this opportunity.

I would like to thank anyone in advance that can help!

 

[Up_Tilt_390]

Whether a company recruits internally or externally depends on the specific company. Some of them mostly go external such as Nothern, others go with internal such as Merseyrail (to my knowledge at least), while some don't even recruit trainees, such as Virgin because of their ability to attract qualified drivers with higher salaries and better quality of work.

In the case of East Midlands Trains, I believe that many drivers are promoted internally from guard or customer service positions. There may be a seasoning of external recruitment of course, but I'd say your best bet is to try and work your way up. Even if an external vacancy comes up, would current staff really be disqualified from applying? I don't know the answer to that myself personally.

All the best with whatever you do, nevertheless...

 

[PudseyBearHST]

Hello.

Someone else can confirm but I think with East Midlands Trains, you have to become a Depot Driver first and then eventually you can apply for a Mainline Driver's position.

 

[tiptoptaff]

Hello.

Someone else can confirm but I think with East Midlands Trains, you have to become a Depot Driver first and then eventually you can apply for a Mainline Driver's position.

This is correct. Same can be said of GA on the East side (if this is still the case - heard it changed recently) and C2C. On freight for example, at GBRF, driving is line of promotion and tend to recruit for Shunters, who then go up through the line of promotion to driving.

GWR recruit internally for drivers first and then only advertise externally if not enough apply. It is common for it go external in the East (RDG, PAD, OXD) but rare for it to go External in the Central and West regions.

I would guess that ALL TOCs advertise internally first, or that the very least, external job adverts are available to internal staff. Working for a TOC will always be helpful - you become a known entity and are more likely to encounter situations and gain experiences that will strengthen a driver application.

 

[LETHLFH]

Not sure whether the most Northern driving positions go external statement is correct, every job is posted internally first and then if there is not enough interest or no suitable candidates. When I got my position it was only advertised internally.

 

[tiptoptaff]

Not sure whether the most Northern driving positions go external statement is correct, every job is posted internally first and then if there is not enough interest or no suitable candidates. When I got my position it was only advertised internally.

^this

I think this sums up exactly how each TOC does it. Even when external, Internal candidates are placed above external candidates and processed first. Talent pool at my TOC has the order of preference: Highest to lowest Internal, then Highest to lowest Group, then highest to lowest External

 

[PotentialTrain]

Thank you for all the information everybody.
I kind of figured this was the way TOC's operated and it's refreshing to see an industry that looks after their own before the rest, something that I am not used to.
I guess the next step is to look into railway positions then, would you say being a guard is a place to start?

I recently applied for a tram driver role within my city as I feel this would help demonstrate some of the attributes required to be a driver.

 

[PudseyBearHST]

Thank you for all the information everybody.
I kind of figured this was the way TOC's operated and it's refreshing to see an industry that looks after their own before the rest, something that I am not used to.
I guess the next step is to look into railway positions then, would you say being a guard is a place to start?

I recently applied for a tram driver role within my city as I feel this would help demonstrate some of the attributes required to be a driver.

A guard is a good role to start off in the railways. East Midland Trains employs Senior Conductors and Train Managers (both being guards) so you need to wait for a vacancy to arise. Also, are you prepared to relocate? This will enhance your chances as you can apply to far more vacancies and also trainee driver jobs.

You need someone from EMT to confirm this but as I said before, I think you must be a Depot Driver before you can apply for Mainline Driver roles. So if I'm correct, then a guard or simply being internal will not help you directly get a Mainline Driver role. They recruit for Depot drivers externally so you could just apply for that directly or you could join EMT (as a guard for example) and then apply internally which should give you a boost.

Another job you could think about is Shunter as that is more in direct line of promotion to jobs like Depot Driver. I think a guard is a good choice as well and I know you want to become a driver but plenty of people are happy with being a Train Manager/Senior Conductor with no intention of becoming a driver.

How did your application go with tram driver? Apologies in advance if I got it wrong with having to be a Depot Driver first with EMT.

 

[PudseyBearHST]

EDIT to my last post: I just found it on the EMT website. It clearly says they don't recruit for Mainline Drivers directly. See quote:

The first thing to know about our driver recruitment is that we do not recruit directly into Mainline Driver roles if you do not already hold a licence to drive trains. If you’re not a qualified driver already you need to keep your eyes peeled for Depot Driver roles. When we recruit our Depot Drivers we look for an extremely high standard, because it’s paramount for the safety of our customers that we only recruit the best. As a result it’s a tough process.

Assumably this is the same for both internals and externals.

 

[Trico382]

I am in the talent pool for depot drivers at EMT and been offered a course starting early next year. It is my understanding that mainline drivers are recruited from the depot drivers unless qualified. At my assessments we were told you had to pass to an enhanced standard with EMT but I imagine with how popular the role is that most TOCs will do the same. I applied externally with no railway experience so I suppose you don't have to be a guard first (or other role) but o also don't see how it could hurt. Good luck with it

 

[Major14]

EMT have one the highest enhanced pass marks for mainline drivers in the country.