Train Operator - London Underground

[Jambo86]

Hi all. I've been following this thread for a while now but refrained from posting until today. I applied for this role back when it came up a few months ago and after what felt like a never-ending and strenuous recruitment process, I received an offer today! Pretty chuffed to say the least. Next up is the medical and then background checks before being given my training dates, hopefully no hiccups until then.

I sat my AC2 with 3 others on Friday, and as far as I was concerned, I was convinced I'd made an absolute shambles of the interview, but apparently not! I'll put a more detailed post up later sharing my experience over the last couple of months.

Thanks to the experienced guys on these forums that provided some excellent bits of info along the way and good luck to the other lads and ladies still awaiting responses.

 

[2000]

Congrats ! Have you been given a start date?

 

[londonboi]

Congratulations and welcome to the family. . Don't forget folks if you have any questions about the job feel free to ask myself will try best to help you out. If you don't want to postman the public forum drop me a PM

Just remember there is no such thing as a silly question we are always learning even drivers who have done the job 30+ years are still learning every day

 

[ozzy1980]

Hey Chaps... I got the call, just going through all the preliminaries health, employment etc. No date for training as they are pretty full for now... But we'll chuffed. Hope to meet a good bunch in the classroom.


Just wondering about the crb check... Is it a basic disclosure or full enhanced one.

Cheers for all the help and info on this forum.

Ozzy

 

[nick40uk]

Hey guys,

Just had an e-mail to book the AC1 assessment. Does anyone know how long it takes to complete as I'm trying to avoid taking a day off work. The start time they've given me is 8:30am.

Cheers

 

[londonboi]

Hey Chaps... I got the call, just going through all the preliminaries health, employment etc. No date for training as they are pretty full for now... But we'll chuffed. Hope to meet a good bunch in the classroom.


Just wondering about the crb check... Is it a basic disclosure or full enhanced one.

Cheers for all the help and info on this forum.

Ozzy

When I done mine I done the full one as have nothing to declare when I done mine years ago though things may be different now.

 

[Lrd]

Hey guys,

Just had an e-mail to book the AC1 assessment. Does anyone know how long it takes to complete as I'm trying to avoid taking a day off work. The start time they've given me is 8:30am.

Cheers

They say to allow 4 hours and it did indeed take close to that amount of time but there were about 40-50 of us, so took longer to hand out the papers. If there are less of you then it can be done in 2-3 hours but I would allow for at least 4 hours, just in case.

 

[nick40uk]

They say to allow 4 hours and it did indeed take close to that amount of time but there were about 40-50 of us, so took longer to hand out the papers. If there are less of you then it can be done in 2-3 hours but I would allow for at least 4 hours, just in case.

Cheers for the info. Also are these assessments done by TfL or OPC?

 

[drazky]

deleted

 

[Ldnnewguy]

Hey guys! Congrats to those who got the job.....me too

Thing is I got offered 2 dates but I have holiday first week of July (which I declared in interview) and so they've said to wait for further dates and they'll call me. I did say I would cancel my holiday but they advised there was no need.

Just a bit concerned now as I can see some of you who got the role who haven't been given training dates yet have been told about health screens etc?? They haven't asked me to do any of that yet :/ I'm now worried!!

 

[nick40uk]

Wonna drive tube..then take day off!
As simple as that

I'm not working until 3pm that day so it's not a problem. If it was all day then I would have to but if it's only a few hours then it's doable.

 

[Jabs29]

Hi guys ive just found this thread and joined i have a assessment for the trainee train operator and was wondering if you guys could help me out im really nervous on what to expect if it may help i have a scaat test and an error id test.

 

[piccman]

Welcome Jabs29. I suggest the first thing you do is to read through this thread as there is a lot of information already been given.

Next, TfL in the communication to you have pointed you to examples and what to expect. Go through those and ensure you fully understand it. The real tests are very similar. They are not out to trick you so just practice.

You can download a computerised SCAAT test, there are plenty of links on this forum as to where you can download it from. When you have it, practice and practice. On the day, you will do it with paper and pen and I found that easier than the computerised version.

So that's it. The more work you put in beforehand, the more confident you will be on the day. And finally, good luck.

 

[Lrd]

Cheers for the info. Also are these assessments done by TfL or OPC?

All done in house by TfL

 

[2000]

All done in house by TfL

Though most of the tests were written by the OPC, TfL just administer them.

 

[londonboi]

Tests are created by the opc but are administrated by tfl employees

 

[Jambo86]

Congrats ! Have you been given a start date?

Not as yet mate, have sent over the pre-med declarations etc to them today and then I'll receive the training dates after my medical. The only info received so far is that the training dates are on rolling starts and some guys have started already, and also that it will be at Ashfield House, Mon-Fri 9-5, 3 weeks classroom based and then 9 weeks with a TO instructor.

To the others, if anyone is yet to go to interview, then prep, prep, prep. It's the best advice I can give, no-one on a forum will be able to help you too much with that. Make sure to absolutely, 100%, without fail, use the STAR format that they highlight in the info pack, and take advantage of the fact that you can take notes into the interview with you. Without giving the answers away, the competencies they send you are exactly what they say on the tin. My advice would be to clear an hour or so at home, sit back, relax, and roll back through your experiences in your current/previous job(s), then write a detailed example relating to each competency. Then you spend the days before the interview scrutinizing each example even further and committing it to memory (the interviewers will expect you to break your answer down a lot). To cover all bases I thought of 2 different examples for each competency and used the STAR format to create bullet points which I could use as a reference point during the interview. This helped me to structure my answers and is also handy as your mind can often go blank under pressure in interviews. Last point relates to the fault finding competency, it is indeed another question and not some form of manual test. Personally, I thought I'd made a mess of the interview and was absolutely certain that a rejection was incoming, but looking back, it appears that the content of my answers was good even if my delivery perhaps wasn't at times (nervous, couple of umms and aahs, stuttering).

One thing I've noticed is that there's little or no pressure on you from TfL itself, it's all self-inflicted, if you can get past that you can definitely get through this process. The staff, examiners, and hosts are all there to try and help you pass and not the other way around. Another tip is don't be shy, on the way to the AC1 and AC2 I bumped into TfL staff at the stations and on the trains, it literally takes 2 seconds to introduce yourself and tell them where you're going. The guys I spoke to were full of encouragement and little bits of advice, well worth doing.

Anyway, I'll stop rambling now. I know it's easy for me to say all this in hindsight but you should relax, be yourself and if you've done your homework you'll get through. You can't cheat the system, or blag it, nor should you try to.

 

[drazky]

Deleted

 

[Gekko5154]

Drazky, you are one funny guy!

 

[nick40uk]

Tests are created by the opc but are administrated by tfl employees

Sorry I didn't make myself clear. What I meant was do the assessments count towards your two lives like they do on the mainline? Or is it considered separate?

 

[Lrd]

Sorry I didn't make myself clear. What I meant was do the assessments count towards your two lives like they do on the mainline? Or is it considered separate?

It is no where near as complicated as mainline tests so it shouldn't count towards the two lives.

 

[londonboi]

No they don't count towards your 2 strikes. There are staff who have tried internally and failed but keep going back which is good it took me three atempts years ago to get the job and tbh LUl are really good (internally anyway) and hold workshops for internal staff to help you get promoted to where you want took. Obv this don't help externals but my advise to you all is dont give up if you really want the job go for it. If you fail this time round geti ur foot in door and go for a station assistant job work you way up as once you in the tfl family your in

 

[Jabs29]

Hi does anyone know anything about the error id test??? Ive done some prep for the scaat test but nothing for the error id test.

 

[2000]

Hi does anyone know anything about the error id test??? Ive done some prep for the scaat test but nothing for the error id test.

There's examples in the practice materials they gave you. Read through it. There's a whole section on it.

 

[Jabs29]

Hi sfxdude thanks for the reply in the email it just says scaat test and error id test but no practice material

 

[AC2er]

In the appointment email it should tell you what to expect in both assessments and under where it says about the AC2 test, after Fault Finding it should have the link to Train Operator Practice Materials
Hopefully it should help
I am still waiting to hear whether or not I passed AC2

 

[Jambo86]

In the appointment email it should tell you what to expect in both assessments and under where it says about the AC2 test, after Fault Finding it should have the link to Train Operator Practice Materials
Hopefully it should help
I am still waiting to hear whether or not I passed AC2

When did you sit yours? Also, keep an eye out for private numbers, as I received a verbal confirmation saying I'd passed before the email confirmation was sent through.

 

[drazky]

deleted

 

[piccman]

I had my AC2 today at 10.30!
Luxury hotel very nice people and tasty jelly been!
Overall it was great pleasure for me !
Miles away from MTR Crossrail heavy artillery which goes not mean I have passed.
Let see the result, probably next week. At this assessment I did not prepare myself at all.
Good luck to all!
I will keep you informed!
Watch that:
http://youtu.be/qQwmC78h50I

Which hotel were you at as they weren't doing interviews today?

 

[Gekko5154]

There were interviews today at the Radisson Blue Edwardian Hotel!
I've just come back from my one which was scheduled at 14:00. Prepare well for the interview guys! I was savagely grilled lol felt like I just came out of a boxing match. Definitely failed.