Scotrail Trainee Drivers (Ongoing)

[kickin aff]

Like many others on here, my application is sitting 'under consideration'. I'm wondering if anyone has been told they are unsuccessful at this point, or is the under consideration a status Scotrail use for everyone not yet invited for assessment?

I was in the job a year and application still showed under consideration. It means nothing really. I got invited to stage 1, 11 months after applying.

 

[TriumphRat]

As I’ve said before on here, you won’t be told if you have not been successful with the paper sift. Only successful candidates will be contacted. Unfortunately you will just have to sit tight and see. When I applied many moons ago, I got contacted about 9 months after application submission.

Others on here more recently have stated that they have been contacted after considerable time asking if they are still interested in progressing with their application.

Don't place much attention on the application status, it’s not an accurate reflection of it‘s progress.

Just to reiterate this.

When I applied in 2019 the ad stated that if you hadn't heard after a fixed time (I think it was 12 weeks) you were to take that as an unsuccessful attempt. However, I got an email inviting me to the first assessment center 9 months later. After COVID delays etc I'm now half way through training (nearly 4 years in the making!) so definitely don't get too despondent if you don't hear anything for a while.

 

[Samsanbor]

These tests were originally designed in such a way that some people could naturally pass them and some couldn't. When I did it 20 years ago there was nothing online, you got the practice material and that was it. The advancement of the internet has allowed people to practice the tests until they can pass, but in the reality of the job you don't get time to practice, you need the natural ability to deal with situations. As a driving instructor there are definitely more trainees now who don't have a natural ability and really struggle, particularly in fault finding and difficult situations. The mechanical comprehension was a tough one but really helps if you can understand how things work. The basics of how a diesel engine works seems totally alien to many of my trainees these days. I'm also encountering many more trainees who go into panic/headless chicken mode when things go wrong when you really need to be calm and methodical. Of course there are also lots of very good trainees as well, but I've never seen so many fail to make the grade or have serious incidents early in their career. I'm not sure the whole process doesn't need an overhaul.

I'm not sure I agree with your points here and I really hope I'm understanding wrong here, indeed I hope you are NOT a a train driver instructor otherwise you are missing some essential elements of the recruitment process!!
These test are not designed to determine a natural ability to pass them!! Nobody has or had a "natural" ability! We all learn!! If you pass these test is because have learnt through life channels such work experience, job experience, hobbies and so on "abilities"! You haven't been made by the "factory" with certain abilities you simply have learnt abilities! There is no need to know what is the real meaning of a fuel gauge or similar, the job require you CHECK that gauge is working within a certain range. These test are designed to help the TOC to identify who can learn quick and adequately a lot of informations NOT who has "natural" ability! You might have brown or black hair, or eyes, that's is natural!!

 

[Kendo]

I'm not sure I agree with your points here and I really hope I'm understanding wrong here, indeed I hope you are NOT a a train driver instructor otherwise you are missing some essential elements of the recruitment process!!
These test are not designed to determine a natural ability to pass them!! Nobody has or had a "natural" ability! We all learn!! If you pass these test is because have learnt through life channels such work experience, job experience, hobbies and so on "abilities"! You haven't been made by the "factory" with certain abilities you simply have learnt abilities! There is no need to know what is the real meaning of a fuel gauge or similar, the job require you CHECK that gauge is working within a certain range. These test are designed to help the TOC to identify who can learn quick and adequately a lot of informations NOT who has "natural" ability! You might have brown or black hair, or eyes, that's is natural!!

Absolutely I can say I've probably never studied as hard to pass these tests. It's all I thought about for months and it ultimately helped me land my dream job. I've no idea what angle this guy is coming from, slagging trainees for panicking during training and not having natural ability is bonkers. No one starts out as a good train driver luckily enough you get taught everything you need to know and with experience whilst using all the tools you've learned you will be absolutely fine.

 

[LoogaBarooga]

You thought about the first set of assessments for months beforehand?

 

[Kendo]

You thought about the first set of assessments for months beforehand?

All tests and interviews process took 4 months from 1st set of tests to landing the job. My point is it's ludicrous to say it's pointless studying wether it's the first set of tests or anything to do with the recruitment to become a train driver.

 

[LoogaBarooga]

Yeah fair enough.

 

[Chris_SSBN05]

With regards to revision, all you need to do is familiarise yourself with the layout and concept of the tests, ie, read and use the practice material. There were a few people when I took the tests who just couldn't get their head around the dials test and they were subsequently binned after that part. The memory task/written explanation thing, I drew a picture of it on the notepaper (which gets taken away) then when the questions came up I recalled the picture in my mind rather than memorise the text. That may help some people.

 

[320320]

These tests were originally designed in such a way that some people could naturally pass them and some couldn't. When I did it 20 years ago there was nothing online, you got the practice material and that was it. The advancement of the internet has allowed people to practice the tests until they can pass, but in the reality of the job you don't get time to practice, you need the natural ability to deal with situations. As a driving instructor there are definitely more trainees now who don't have a natural ability and really struggle, particularly in fault finding and difficult situations. The mechanical comprehension was a tough one but really helps if you can understand how things work. The basics of how a diesel engine works seems totally alien to many of my trainees these days. I'm also encountering many more trainees who go into panic/headless chicken mode when things go wrong when you really need to be calm and methodical. Of course there are also lots of very good trainees as well, but I've never seen so many fail to make the grade or have serious incidents early in their career. I'm not sure the whole process doesn't need an overhaul.

I’ve heard very recently that’s going to happen and for some of the reasons you say. In my area there are more new drivers having safety of the line reviews due to multiple incidents within their PQ period, resulting in at least one being removed from driving altogether.

The interview process appears to be causing some concern due to the amount of candidates that are coming through and turn out to be completely unsuitable for the role.

I think they would have a greater chance of success if they focused more on internal recruitment for the drivers role as they’d have a true picture of the candidates behaviour and personality rather than being hoodwinked by candidates from certain professions that interview very well and then complain about working unsociable shifts before they’ve even turned a wheel on their own.

 

[Kendo]

I’ve heard very recently that’s going to happen and for some of the reasons you say. In my area there are more new drivers having safety of the line reviews due to multiple incidents within their PQ period, resulting in at least one being removed from driving altogether.

The interview process appears to be causing some concern due to the amount of candidates that are coming through and turn out to be completely unsuitable for the role.

I think they would have a greater chance of success if they focused more on internal recruitment for the drivers role as they’d have a true picture of the candidates behaviour and personality rather than being hoodwinked by candidates from certain professions that interview very well and then complain about working unsociable shifts before they’ve even turned a wheel on their own.

At my depot the only two drivers that didn't make the grade were internal applicants.

 

[henke7]

I’ve heard very recently that’s going to happen and for some of the reasons you say. In my area there are more new drivers having safety of the line reviews due to multiple incidents within their PQ period, resulting in at least one being removed from driving altogether.

The interview process appears to be causing some concern due to the amount of candidates that are coming through and turn out to be completely unsuitable for the role.

I think they would have a greater chance of success if they focused more on internal recruitment for the drivers role as they’d have a true picture of the candidates behaviour and personality rather than being hoodwinked by candidates from certain professions that interview very well and then complain about working unsociable shifts before they’ve even turned a wheel on their own.

If newly qualified drivers are having incidents then surely they have to look at the training not where the candidates are coming from. Granted some people might not be cut out for it but can pass exams etc but a focus on internal candidates will not stop this problem.

 

[Zimmerman1941]

Hello,

Can someone who has recently completed the medical, specifically, about the colourblind test. Is it the ishihara test that is used?

Thanks

 

[320320]

At my depot the only two drivers that didn't make the grade were internal applicants.

In my area the vast majority of trainees are external applicants so have higher instances of failure.

If newly qualified drivers are having incidents then surely they have to look at the training not where the candidates are coming from. Granted some people might not be cut out for it but can pass exams etc but a focus on internal candidates will not stop this problem.

The training has never been a problem before in relation to the number of new driver incidents, possibly because there was a higher number of internal candidates.

A focus on internal applicants enables selection of candidates with a proven track record of working in the rail industry, albeit in different roles.

It also mitigates against the number of trainees that, despite claiming a willingness to work weekends and back shifts during the interview process, now want to work family friendly shifts or, in the case of some, part time hours.

 

[43066]

I think they would have a greater chance of success if they focused more on internal recruitment for the drivers role as they’d have a true picture of the candidates behaviour and personality rather than being hoodwinked by candidates from certain professions that interview very well and then complain about working unsociable shifts before they’ve even turned a wheel on their own.

Where I trained the trainers explicitly said they preferred external candidates, who tended to have better track records post qualifications than ex guards etc. Internal applicants often have a tendency to think they know it all, then rack up incidents when they find the job isn’t what they expected. I’ve worked with several examples like this unfortunately.

In my area the vast majority of trainees are external applicants so have higher instances of failure.

If most of the drivers are external then obviously they’ll be responsible for most of the incidents. That doesn’t mean there wouldn’t have been more incidents if a greater proportion of drivers had been internal.

 

[Del 2804]

Had the DMI on 9th of February, not heard anything back yet, does anyone know the rough timescale of when you might hear back or does it just vary? I know they will have alot to deal with

 

[henke7]

Had the DMI on 9th of February, not heard anything back yet, does anyone know the rough timescale of when you might hear back or does it just vary? I know they will have alot to deal with

Hope its good news for you, when did you take the stage 1 assessments?

 

[Del 2804]

Hope its good news for you, when did you take the stage 1 assessments?

February 2020 just before covid hit

 

[320320]

Where I trained the trainers explicitly said they preferred external candidates, who tended to have better track records post qualifications than ex guards etc. Internal applicants often have a tendency to think they know it all, then rack up incidents when they find the job isn’t what they expected. I’ve worked with several examples like this unfortunately.



If most of the drivers are external then obviously they’ll be responsible for most of the incidents. That doesn’t mean there wouldn’t have been more incidents if a greater proportion of drivers had been internal.

A common theme where I work towards a lot external candidates is “who the hell put them through” although for balance, the worst one in recent times was an internal applicant who’ll be lucky to ever qualify as a driver.

There seems to be higher instances of incidents or people generally disliking the shift patterns now than there’s ever been, maybe it’s just a coincidence that most of them are external with no previous railway experience.

 

[TriumphRat]

Had the DMI on 9th of February, not heard anything back yet, does anyone know the rough timescale of when you might hear back or does it just vary? I know they will have alot to deal with

It was a three week wait for me to get an email confirming I was successful at the DMI, so a bit of a wait seems to be normal. Hope you get good news soon.

 

[Del 2804]

It was a three week wait for me to get an email confirming I was successful at the DMI, so a bit of a wait seems to be normal. Hope you get good news soon.

Thanks for the reply, fingerscrossed

 

[Douglaslynn]

My application is still at under consideration too, so fingers crossed I’m contacted eventually as would at least like the chance to do tests and get a go at interview.
Lots of really helpful input on here, glad to have found this forum & thread!

 

[Del 2804]

I posted on Monday asking timescale for results of DMI, actually got an email yesterday saying I was successful, great news, onto the next part now.
Will need to get researching for what's up next

 

[Kendo]

I posted on Monday asking timescale for results of DMI, actually got an email yesterday saying I was successful, great news, onto the next part now.
Will need to get researching for what's up next

Brilliant well played

 

[Del 2804]

Brilliant well played

Cheers, thanks

 

[Firsttimer85]

Hi Folks, sorry if this has already been answered. Applied back in December. My status has changed from under consideration to Blank. Guessing never made the sift, could anybody in the know clarify? Ta.

 

[Sand Dancer]

Has anyone applied and heard back from ScotRail about the trainee train driver roles that were advertised in January? I've passed my tests with OPC with another railway that I'm in the talent pool for and was hoping that would speed up my application with this one but I've heard nothing yet (although I appreciate it said it can take up to 12 weeks). Just wondering if they've seen anyone yet.

 

[bobbers]

Hey, I've applied. Heard nothing. I think someone on here had been successfull. Can't remember name though. I think making the sift isn't easy and they don't let you know if you haven't made it.

 

[Sand Dancer]

I contacted them and they said its up to 12 weeks so guess its just a case of waiting. With me already passing all the tests though I'd find it odd if I didn't at least get an interview but who knows!!!

 

[John Bishop]

I contacted them and they said its up to 12 weeks so guess its just a case of waiting. With me already passing all the tests though I'd find it odd if I didn't at least get an interview but who knows!!!

What depot did you apply for and do you live where your location says?

If you scroll down just a little bit on this page you will find a whole thread dedicated to Scotrail Trainee drivers!

 

[Sand Dancer]

Edinburgh apprenticeship and yes