Time, please!

[Les Burrows]

Greetings good folk of RailUK, my name is Les.

An aspiring train driver I thought it prudent to stop by and soak up as much of your knowledge and tips as I can. In brief, I'm a serving police officer and ex-soldier with a combined 17 years public service. For the sake of appropriateness I'll spare you the inane detail but in essence I see an ever shrinking future in what was once a great job.

As a consequence I am now ready to move on from my (current) lot and (hopefully - fingers, legs, arms and toes crossed) start a third career as a driver.

I've had a thorough look around the site and have found it extremely insightful, albeit my timing has evidently been pretty rubbish. It seems I've not long missed out on a raft of trainee driver positions.. Looking forwards then, my hope is I can 1: time it properly and actually be alert to positions being advertised and 2: do a bloody good job on getting that CV in.

Questions for you then, please:
1 - Are there any courses, e.g. rail specific health & safety, that might enhance an applicants application?
2 - In the context of the GBT (and its friends) would you recommend any training courses, reading material or such like? For example, these folk are offering this - http://traineetraindriverinfo.com/trainee-train-driver-course/
3 - Thoughts on the rail industry's future growth and what that will mean for aspiring drivers? For instance, is the trend for trainee's likely to grow or diminish? How do you see this, please?
4 - Job security in the role of driver; does it exist?
5 - Do any of you have the use of a drivers mate? I make an awesome cup of tea!
6 - Anything else you feel might be relevant, please pop it in your reply or feel free to PM me.

Constructive comments and advice sought, please.

With kind regards,

Les.

 

[dapc]

Welcome! Ex service is always good and in some cases, related safety critical work is also good.

As for your questions...

1. I wouldnt bother with any courses, perhaps look at jobs on the railway such as dispatchers, train managers, guards. You will learn railway jargon, safety etc etc. Its just a option and some have got on the trainee driver course without. But this is what i done, coming from the police. BTP so it was kind of railway related.

2. As for reading material, the internet is your friend, and a book i bought was "how to become a train driver" i didnt get the one with the cd-rom as i found material on the net and used what the TOC (train operating company) sent me. I wouldnt bother paying some company something you can find on here.

3. Railway is always growing and from what i have seen always had money to spend. Many new railway adventures are happening such as cross rail and no doubt HS2 among others. The need for drivers will always be needed even if there is a lack of driving in the future. ( the public feel safer with some kind of operator behinde the wheel) the LU central line and others are examples of this.

4. if jobs are going to go, drivers should be last. re. Mc Nutley Report

5. It takes along while to get anywhere with the railway. I started applying with one TOC 2-3 years ago and now been accepted by a FOC (frieght operating company) instead.

6. Look at Frieght companies aswell as passenger. I didnt even think of frieght and my first try i was lucky.

Please dont take my word as gospel as im sure others with have a different opinion

 

[Dave1987]

As far a job security goes I think being with a TOC is more secure but the freight guys will be able to confirm this.

 

[TDK]

Hi Les,

1. Courses are a waste of time and money as your experience you have with previous employment will help you with your application for the job.

2. All the tests are widely available online to practice (although I am against it as it gives a false result) once again don't waste any money on anything as most of it is available free.

3. Trainee drivers are always needed and vacancies are available frequently, hopefully you live within 1 hour of a depot or will relocate for a job, if this is the case register yourself with all the companies email alerts for job vacancies.

4. You keep your nose clean and you will have a job for life normally.

5. Due to the number of applicants I would say it is probably one of the hardest roles to get into however if you are the right person for the job then it will seem easy. Many people join the railways in a different role and try to work their way up however if it is driver you want go for that.

6. The application form is the first step, sell yourself, use key words in the application ( I will PM you with some of them) make sure you fill the form in completely, learn something about the role, shifts, companies, infrastructure etc. first. The most important question will be "Why do you want to become a train driver" think about the reasons without mentioning salary, railway enthusiast and it's what you always wanted to do from when you was a boy You need to remember that there will be over 1000 applicants for every 5 jobs normally so you need to stand out amongst the crowd.

Good luck Les.

I cannot PM you until you have posted a few more posts. PM me when you have more posts under your belt!

 

[Les Burrows]

Folks, many thanks for your comments so far, I'm very grateful.

@TDK - I'll PM you the moment I'm able to. As it is I'm studying the protection of critical infrastructure via St Andrews uni and am, at the moment, writing a paper that analyses the security behind the HS1 network.

Super interesting stuff and, if I was ever fortunate enough would give me lots to talk about at interview.

Thanks again,

Les.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
So on the way home today I thought I'd have a chat with a driver whilst waiting to depart from King's Cross. Turns out he had 25 years service (as a driver) and spent all of the several minutes we had chatting about how much things have changed.

Salient points being:
- Recruitment has drastically changed since he joined, i.e. "I just applied via an advert in the newspaper" and "it's all psychometric tests now and there's lots to do".
- New trains are coming to FCC where the driver will need to know less and less about mechanics.
- Firms are always recruiting.

Unfortunately he didn't have the names of any prominent HR types (for First Capital Connect) but was very polite and happy to chat.

Thanks for your time driver.