26k whilst Training, 51k once Qualified.
No increments whilst Training.
Plan to be fully qualified in 12-14 months from starting.
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The GTR talent pool.
- Thread starter Garyjames1701
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No increments whilst Training.
Plan to be fully qualified in 12-14 months from starting.
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So after being in the good old talent pool since 2015 , doing a medical the same year and being offered a date nearly 8 months later only to have it retracted a few days later I am somewhat hesitant to celebrate being offered a trainee drivers position at cricklewood for March pending a medical. Has anyone else been offered a start?
Pending Medical?
Doesn't the BUPA medical last for three years?
Congratulations btw ??????
Yep pending medical, must not last that long which I guess makes sense as anything could happen in that time. Just waiting for a date for that and hopefully will get a date that isn't then taken away again! Thanks for the congrats by the way 
It’s official, if you're waiting on Bedford, the train driving job isn’t going anywhere, for me at least.
Sometimes you have to put your head above the parapet and risk getting it blown off... or actually finding out what's going on, so I contacted Andy Binden their HR director to say I wasn’t happy at being strung out for the last two years with no real info etc. Got a nice reply from him apologising for not managing our expectations etc and said he would get someone on the case to let me know what was happening etc…
Had a call back from their senior HR bod who was very apologetic and says that there will be no more recruitment for Bedford for the foreseeable future and they are trying to locate Bedford applicants at other depots. Bad news for me (and anyone else I suspect who lives north of Bedford) puts me outside the one hour commuting time to depots they are looking to fill… So that’s me out of it. Just a case of living the wrong end of the tracks I suppose. At least they finally got round to telling me.
Sometimes you have to put your head above the parapet and risk getting it blown off... or actually finding out what's going on, so I contacted Andy Binden their HR director to say I wasn’t happy at being strung out for the last two years with no real info etc. Got a nice reply from him apologising for not managing our expectations etc and said he would get someone on the case to let me know what was happening etc…
Had a call back from their senior HR bod who was very apologetic and says that there will be no more recruitment for Bedford for the foreseeable future and they are trying to locate Bedford applicants at other depots. Bad news for me (and anyone else I suspect who lives north of Bedford) puts me outside the one hour commuting time to depots they are looking to fill… So that’s me out of it. Just a case of living the wrong end of the tracks I suppose. At least they finally got round to telling me.
Did they specifically tell you that you were now excluded or that the hour rule applied to whichever new depot they were allocated ?
I was told that my post code puts me out of reasonable commuting distance to other depots that have vacancies that require filling.
Thanks for the reply.
Please take this as a positive and with good intention. As long as there is a depot at Bedford it will always need Trainee's. Maybe not at the moment but in the long term there must always be recruitment as there will be a natural turnover. Probaby not what you want to hear but its the best I could offer.
Good luck with it
Please take this as a positive and with good intention. As long as there is a depot at Bedford it will always need Trainee's. Maybe not at the moment but in the long term there must always be recruitment as there will be a natural turnover. Probaby not what you want to hear but its the best I could offer.
Good luck with it
Thanks for the sentiment and I understand what you're saying, however, whilst GTR might not be recruiting for Bedford "at the moment", they definitely were two years ago, when I submitted my application.
Whilst I appreciate that business requirement change and due to "restructuring" the requirement for trainees at Bedford no longer exists, would it really have been so difficult for GTR HR to let those of us waiting in the talent pool in on this information?
For whatever reason, the lower echelon at GTR HR chose not to respond or act appropriately to requests for information from myself over the last 18 months and yet 4 working hours after emailing the HR Director, I get an answer to my questions ! Not what I wanted to hear but it's what I already knew based on information posted in this very forum.
The real kick in the slats came when the HR team leader told me that my application was unlikely to progress (even though I have passed everything bar the medical for trainee train driver), but I should continue to monitor their website for other vacancies that may appear !!! (I'm not sure how this improves my situation for the role of trainee train driver with GTR???. If I live too far way then I live too far away and taking another job such as sweeping a platform (by no means derogatory) isn't going to change that fact.
If there's one thing I've learned from this process, it's that you can have all the right qualities, be a great candidate, etc - but it at the end of the day, it really boils down to a postcode lottery. If you live the wrong end of the tracks, then you haven't a hope in hell. And before people mention relocation, that was never offered as an option. Not once have GTR said to me are you prepared to move if we offer you such a place? Why would they when they have a large selection of candidates to choose from?
On the flip side, why would I uproot my family to increase my chances of getting a train driver job unless there is a real offer there?.... and by relocating, I then reduce my chances with other TOC's as I then move out of their catchment area? I live in a very nice rural part of Northants. Would I really be that stupid to sell up and move to North London on the pretext of "maybe" getting offered a position? What happens when the position doesn't materialise? I'm then stuck in an area that I don't know, probably can't afford, with no real prospects of getting out.
My train driver application currently looks like this:
LM (Northampton) Didn't pass papersift (apparently I never ticked a box stating I had previously worked in a safety critical environment).
DBS (Leicester) - passed assessment but DBS pulled plug on recruitment
GTR (Bedford) - Passed everything bar medical but application not progressing as GTR no longer accepting trainees for Bedford due to restructuring and thereby putting me outside the commutable distance to other depots.
I'll not be applying again, as I've said in other posts, it's not the be all, end all for me. And I know when I'm beat.
I'm not saying I'm unlucky...but as far as this process is concerned, if they were raffling women, I'd most likely win my sister.
Polar
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The whole hour travel is laughable anyway. We have drivers who live in Peterborough based at King's cross etc . They don't seem at all concerned how long we all take getting to work!
But is she hot?
Nobody knows. Cricklewood isn't open yet. Not even built. Neither are any of the new depots (Luton, St Albans, Horsham, Finsbury Park, Gillingham etc etc)
In fact I've had a mass of Gillingham drivers out with me and I'm still confused how they're going to do their training as there's no depot there, no drivers, basically nothing. However, I now understand that they've been told they'll be based at Blackfriars in the interim and doing their training there. Not sure how that'll work as all 6 driver trainers at Blackfriars have trainees so how they're supposed to train a further 24 Gillingham drivers beats me!
Unfortunately for those at the northern end, Bedford drivers will be displaced to Luton and St Albans as will Blackfriars drivers who live north of the river. There may be some who go to cricklewood but although we know nothing about what depot will do what work, many feel that Cricklewood will be less popular because of presumed very early starts.
In terms of salary, as Scattle says it's 26k leading to 51k on qualification. But it'll take much longer than 12-14 months (on TL side anyway). When I came through th trainees on my course ranged from 15 to 26 months and there was no shortage of driver trainers then... The GN side is far quicker though as they have a much simpler route card. And rumours are that the TL route card will shrink as a result of the new depots. We shall wait and see.
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ComUtoR
Have you heard any whispers on recruitment and the chances of all the guys waiting around for (originally) Bedford, whom went thru the process in the summer of 2015 ? Some of us like me are within the commute to other places like Luton, St Albans, Hitchin, N London.
Anything at all, good or bad? PM me if you wish.
Much Appreciiated
Have you heard any whispers on recruitment and the chances of all the guys waiting around for (originally) Bedford, whom went thru the process in the summer of 2015 ? Some of us like me are within the commute to other places like Luton, St Albans, Hitchin, N London.
Anything at all, good or bad? PM me if you wish.
Much Appreciiated
I too would be interested to know about this. I live about 4 miles south of bedford station, near the A6, so only about a 20minute/ half hour drive from Luton.
I too have emailed... and been ignored.
Hi what's a typical shift on TL side with Sundays etc and how early will cricklewood early's be? Thx.
Not heard anything specific other than rumors and discussions with other Drivers and the growing number of Gilly Trainees appearing in cabs.
Depot numbers and GTR Trainee training details are becoming more clear and have been briefed out. The new depots are very much up in the air and as has been posted, not even built yet.
Depot numbers and GTR Trainee training details are becoming more clear and have been briefed out. The new depots are very much up in the air and as has been posted, not even built yet.
Haha - did you read my message?
Cricklewood's not been built yet, nobody knows. However, shift wise I can help:
E E E E RD RD
RD RD L L L L
L L RD RD E E
This is Monday to Saturday. Sundays are outside the working week and it's up to you if/when you work them.
bILLOO - we've not been told any different. Only that they haven't even started building anything yet. So still depots at Bedford, Luton, St. Albans, Cricklewood if you're talking about the MML side.
Yep 3 days of rules left for our class (Wk14)
We are the first Gillingham class.
Then onto Traction solely on 700's
I've been in the talent pool since I passed my DMI in July of 2015, I've seen countless people get a position ahead of me, some not even entering it. I live in the 1hour catchment of Bedford,Hitchin, Luton, Cricklewood, Blackfriars, kings road and St Albans, and still nothing.
Honestly, I can't see any reason or logic to how they pick candidates, and as much as I'd like a position, I'm disappointed to be treated like this and would be alot less annoyed if they would just let me know what was going on.
Honestly, I can't see any reason or logic to how they pick candidates, and as much as I'd like a position, I'm disappointed to be treated like this and would be alot less annoyed if they would just let me know what was going on.
If you are within the hour of the new depots, try and ring up HR saying you are. I was in Talent Pool for 16 months and Gillingham was advertised, I had to ring them and say I was within 45 minutes of it, they didnt ring me.
Someone on here has recently got a start for Cricklewood in March so may be worth you calling and asking.
I did orignally ring them when the new depot stuff was being banded around in september and was told my name would be put down for all of them as i was in the catchment. I was also told at the time that nothing would happen until 2017, however given the recent development i guess its time to start hasseling again!
This post could very easily be written by me.
Exactly the same set of criteria you've got mate.
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