Trainee Driver Jobs Few & Far Between...

[sirgomer]

Hi everyone. New to this forum so sorry if this question has been asked a million times. I've been looking on the net for some time now regarding trainee driver jobs. I know that FL did the graduate thing last year and Chiltern trains did a trainee driver role which closed in August last year but it was only just after both schemes closed that I started my in depth search. I notice that it is quite obvious that trainee train driver roles are so few and far between for both FOCs and TOCs. What amazes me though is that there always seems to be qualified driver roles, obviously due to transfers etc, but why do so many qualified driver jobs come and go but natural progression doesn't seem to encourage lots of trainee jobs to compensate? Happy to hear opinions and reasons for this. Always interested

 

[SPADTrap]

Hi everyone. New to this forum so sorry if this question has been asked a million times. I've been looking on the net for some time now regarding trainee driver jobs. I know that FL did the graduate thing last year and Chiltern trains did a trainee driver role which closed in August last year but it was only just after both schemes closed that I started my in depth search. I notice that it is quite obvious that trainee train driver roles are so few and far between for both FOCs and TOCs. What amazes me though is that there always seems to be qualified driver roles, obviously due to transfers etc, but why do so many qualified driver jobs come and go but natural progression doesn't seem to encourage lots of trainee jobs to compensate? Happy to hear opinions and reasons for this. Always interested

I'd go as far to say that Trainee Train Driver jobs are actually quite common! They do seem to follow a pattern that sees many TOCs recruiting around the same time but many London TOCs have a fairly steady recruitment of trainees, my TOC certainly does! They often aren't advertised for long as they attract a large amount of applicants which can often mean a TOC doesn't need to readvertise for their next recruitment drive but that doesn't mean they aren't recruiting.

 

[Pepperami]

Welcome to the Forums

As a trainee driver, I cannot comment really on the Fully Qualified positions available, apart from what I personally know.... Retirement, reallocation to another TOC from a driver that might have wanted to move for specific reasons, some drivers like to move every now and again, to learn different traction maybe, or High Speed Traction and routes, and its easier for a TOC to advertise for a qualified driver, knowing he or she has maybe only got to learn routes and traction, than pay for someone to be trained up from scratch

Trainee positions do come up, and I know at Thameslink they were looking to hold 4 or 5 training intakes this year for trainee drivers due to the amount of drivers they require, I found this out at the company induction, so keep an eye on the Govia Thameslink Railway for such positions

There are NO guarantees on this I might add!! There could be a lot of people awaiting positions in the "Talent Pool" but its worth keeping an eye on the recruitment page, and also subscribing to "job Alerts" if they are available

All the best

Chris

 

[sirgomer]

I'd go as far to say that Trainee Train Driver jobs are actually quite common! They do seem to follow a pattern that sees many TOCs recruiting around the same time but many London TOCs have a fairly steady recruitment of trainees, my TOC certainly does! They often aren't advertised for long as they attract a large amount of applicants which can often mean a TOC doesn't need to readvertise for their next recruitment drive but that doesn't mean they aren't recruiting.

Thanks for the reply Wish I lived near London rather than Coventry and then I'd probably have more chance

 

[sirgomer]

Welcome to the Forums

As a trainee driver, I cannot comment really on the Fully Qualified positions available, apart from what I personally know.... Retirement, reallocation to another TOC from a driver that might have wanted to move for specific reasons, some drivers like to move every now and again, to learn different traction maybe, or High Speed Traction and routes, and its easier for a TOC to advertise for a qualified driver, knowing he or she has maybe only got to learn routes and traction, than pay for someone to be trained up from scratch

Trainee positions do come up, and I know at Thameslink they were looking to hold 4 or 5 training intakes this year for trainee drivers due to the amount of drivers they require, I found this out at the company induction, so keep an eye on the Govia Thameslink Railway for such positions

There are NO guarantees on this I might add!! There could be a lot of people awaiting positions in the "Talent Pool" but its worth keeping an eye on the recruitment page, and also subscribing to "job Alerts" if they are available

All the best

Chris

Hi Chris. Thanks for the welcome! Yes I guess it is just a matter of wait and see. I was just surprised thats all as when you look about at various companies you see many, many qualified positions and you think sort, well, if there are so many qualified drivers needed then why not train some more lol. But we'll keep looking. I guess in the London area there are some more, different TOCs but around my area (Coventry) I haven't seen much recruitment for a while so you never know there may be some soon!
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I'd go as far to say that Trainee Train Driver jobs are actually quite common! They do seem to follow a pattern that sees many TOCs recruiting around the same time but many London TOCs have a fairly steady recruitment of trainees, my TOC certainly does! They often aren't advertised for long as they attract a large amount of applicants which can often mean a TOC doesn't need to readvertise for their next recruitment drive but that doesn't mean they aren't recruiting.

Thanks for the reply. Yeah as is often my luck the vacancies are often other areas. I do imagine there are so many applicants as its a fantastic job so all we can do is keep looking and hopefully get a chance to apply for one one day

 

[SPADTrap]

Thanks for the reply. Yeah as is often my luck the vacancies are often other areas. I do imagine there are so many applicants as its a fantastic job so all we can do is keep looking and hopefully get a chance to apply for one one day

Absolutely! Keep a watchful eye out on the TOCs in your area and you'll soon be in with a shot! Took me a while as most but believe me it can happen, and enjoy it when it does

Best of luck!!

 

[A-driver]

Hi everyone. New to this forum so sorry if this question has been asked a million times. I've been looking on the net for some time now regarding trainee driver jobs. I know that FL did the graduate thing last year and Chiltern trains did a trainee driver role which closed in August last year but it was only just after both schemes closed that I started my in depth search. I notice that it is quite obvious that trainee train driver roles are so few and far between for both FOCs and TOCs. What amazes me though is that there always seems to be qualified driver roles, obviously due to transfers etc, but why do so many qualified driver jobs come and go but natural progression doesn't seem to encourage lots of trainee jobs to compensate? Happy to hear opinions and reasons for this. Always interested

Qualified drivers are often advertised as thy can get a productive driver within weeks rather than a year. Often trainee jobs are not advertised externally as they have enough interest from within the company so a qualified driver leaving may be replaced by an internal trainee.

Will also point out that TOCs rely heavily on overtime so if someone leaves the grade they won't always rush to replace them. It's common to operate with only 2/3rds of the number of drivers they actually need!

 

[sirgomer]

Qualified drivers are often advertised as thy can get a productive driver within weeks rather than a year. Often trainee jobs are not advertised externally as they have enough interest from within the company so a qualified driver leaving may be replaced by an internal trainee.

Will also point out that TOCs rely heavily on overtime so if someone leaves the grade they won't always rush to replace them. It's common to operate with only 2/3rds of the number of drivers they actually need!

Very good points and most interesting. Thanks for your reply. Yes I would have thought that internally it would have as much as interest as external. I've been involved with railways all my life but always as a volunteer. On the big railway being paid for it it must be the bees knees - and clearly is

 

[notadriver]

Get qualified as a train driver and even in Scotland you'll be on 41k. It's a great qualification to get.

 

[sirgomer]

Get qualified as a train driver and even in Scotland you'll be on 41k. It's a great qualification to get.

Yes yet another pro for such a great job already

 

[E&W Lucas]

Hi everyone. New to this forum so sorry if this question has been asked a million times. I've been looking on the net for some time now regarding trainee driver jobs. I know that FL did the graduate thing last year and Chiltern trains did a trainee driver role which closed in August last year but it was only just after both schemes closed that I started my in depth search. I notice that it is quite obvious that trainee train driver roles are so few and far between for both FOCs and TOCs. What amazes me though is that there always seems to be qualified driver roles, obviously due to transfers etc, but why do so many qualified driver jobs come and go but natural progression doesn't seem to encourage lots of trainee jobs to compensate? Happy to hear opinions and reasons for this. Always interested

There's so much interest in trainee roles, they don't need to be advertised for very long, or very widely. Some TOC's have to try that bit harder to recruit qualified staff.

Is moving a county to the south possible for you?
You'd then be within range of the likes of Bedford, etc, without totally turning your world on its head.

 

[TDK]

Get qualified as a train driver and even in Scotland you'll be on 41k. It's a great qualification to get.

This answers your questions on roles for qualified driver vacancies. You will find that new drivers will relocate to gain a job, even from say London to Scotland, they get their 2 years in and then want to relocate back as they have been renting digs.

I have seen this happen many a time, also when you have depots in close proximity, for instance, you may get a driver apply for Shrewsbury who lives in Crewe, get the job and then after their ticket apply for DRS or something at Crewe as it is on their doorstep this then leaves a vacancy at Shrewsbury that needs to be filled reasonably quickly so therefore they advertise for a qualified driver and not a trainee.

Companies are now advertising for trainee drivers even when there isn't a vacancy available to put them in a so called talent pool just in case a vacancy arises to save the time it takes to recruit.

 

[red2005]

welcome to the site mate!

The vacancies are out there pal! the thing you have to be is flexible!...as these jobs sods law very rarely come up on your doorstep and re location may be necessary (if you want it enough and personal life depending)

i think the last year or so has been the most active in terms of recruitment i have seen it in a long while!...in the early days of my applications half the country would apply for trainee jobs as there was the recession and EWS had just had multiple redundancies and there was qualified drivers floating around everywhere with extensive route knowledge! so trainee jobs were scarce for about 3-4 years! also criminally because of said recession companies had a preference of recruiting trainee's off the street so if you were already working on the railway you were at a huge disadvantage

I'd say be VERY careful about using the term 'natural progression' now mate especially if you get to an interview! i remember before getting my job i was having a brief chat with the head of conductors (who went on to become head of drivers at a later date) and i was telling him about my frustrations about trying to go driving and i said 'it's the natural progression'.

i was met with a look of total confusion and was asked 'who the hell told you that load of claptrap!?......your natural progression is to conductor instructor or conductor manager not directly to driver'

so i think it's safe to say toc's have a different outlook these days in comparison to BR times! in terms of equality mate it is great for people off the street who wanna go straight to driving but in terms of what's morally right for people who have already cut their teeth within the industry it's another challenge to put into an already challenging process

anyway we digress.....keep looking pal they will soon pop up in your area i am sure

 

[TDK]

The vacancies are out there pal! the thing you have to be is flexible!...as these jobs sods law very rarely come up on your doorstep and re location may be necessary (if you want it enough and personal life depending)

One thing that needs to be added is that when recruiting a company will take people local over anyone outside the area if they meet the grade through the recruitment stage so if you do intend to relocate you may have to take a few "you haven't made it through the sift", however this doesn't mean that your application was not good enough as location is possibly one of the first things that manager will look at first bar the form not being correctly completed.

 

[HSTfan!!!]

If you're willing to relocate then you'll have no problem finding vacancies. A colleague and I were in the same boat, he went off to work for a London TOC, I waited patiently a few more years and ended up with a FOC on my doorstep.

 

[Latecomer]

Remember too that companies often advertise for qualified drivers if they only have a handful of vacancies to fill. It would not be economical to recruit just 3 trainees for example because of the costs of running the course. Therefore you may see one advert for a qualified drivers for a TOC but it is just for 5 vacancies, whereas an advert for another TOC for trainees may require 20 people off the street. Same number of adverts but four times as many trainee jobs available.

 

[sirgomer]

welcome to the site mate!

The vacancies are out there pal! the thing you have to be is flexible!...as these jobs sods law very rarely come up on your doorstep and re location may be necessary (if you want it enough and personal life depending)

i think the last year or so has been the most active in terms of recruitment i have seen it in a long while!...in the early days of my applications half the country would apply for trainee jobs as there was the recession and EWS had just had multiple redundancies and there was qualified drivers floating around everywhere with extensive route knowledge! so trainee jobs were scarce for about 3-4 years! also criminally because of said recession companies had a preference of recruiting trainee's off the street so if you were already working on the railway you were at a huge disadvantage

I'd say be VERY careful about using the term 'natural progression' now mate especially if you get to an interview! i remember before getting my job i was having a brief chat with the head of conductors (who went on to become head of drivers at a later date) and i was telling him about my frustrations about trying to go driving and i said 'it's the natural progression'.

i was met with a look of total confusion and was asked 'who the hell told you that load of claptrap!?......your natural progression is to conductor instructor or conductor manager not directly to driver'

so i think it's safe to say toc's have a different outlook these days in comparison to BR times! in terms of equality mate it is great for people off the street who wanna go straight to driving but in terms of what's morally right for people who have already cut their teeth within the industry it's another challenge to put into an already challenging process

anyway we digress.....keep looking pal they will soon pop up in your area i am sure

Hi mate. Thanks very much for your reply Please do excuse my use of the term natural progression, in my current place of work it tends to be used to mean people moving on, retiring etc, rather than moving grades - sorry for the confusion I'll keep looking and looking for vacancies and keep an eye on the stuff all over, but you never know, something may come up local - fingers always crossed
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One thing that needs to be added is that when recruiting a company will take people local over anyone outside the area if they meet the grade through the recruitment stage so if you do intend to relocate you may have to take a few "you haven't made it through the sift", however this doesn't mean that your application was not good enough as location is possibly one of the first things that manager will look at first bar the form not being correctly completed.

Yes I guess it is much easier to employ locally and support the current employees sometimes - makes sense. Want something to come up so I can at least attempt to apply
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

If you're willing to relocate then you'll have no problem finding vacancies. A colleague and I were in the same boat, he went off to work for a London TOC, I waited patiently a few more years and ended up with a FOC on my doorstep.

Quite inspirational that is! An FOC job right on the doorstep?...sounds perfect to me

 

[red2005]

Hi mate. Thanks very much for your reply Please do excuse my use of the term natural progression, in my current place of work it tends to be used to mean people moving on, retiring etc, rather than moving grades - sorry for the confusion I'll keep looking and looking for vacancies and keep an eye on the stuff all over, but you never know, something may come up local - fingers always crossed
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---


Yes I guess it is much easier to employ locally and support the current employees sometimes - makes sense. Want something to come up so I can at least attempt to apply
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---


Quite inspirational that is! An FOC job right on the doorstep?...sounds perfect to me

ahhhhhhh i seeeee i do apologise then matey! i reckon there should be a natural progression in terms of the grade personally but you see what happened last time i mentioned that ha

 

[W230]

Yes I guess it is much easier to employ locally and support the current employees sometimes - makes sense. Want something to come up so I can at least attempt to apply

Just to echo what has already been said, there has been an absolute abundance of training jobs in the last few months. Thameslink, Southern, SWT, SET, Greater Anglia, LOROL, FGW, Crossrail have all taken people on. You'll notice these are all London TOCs. This is where the bulk of the jobs are and will continue to be.

However, London Midland, Northern, ATW, Scotrail have also all been recruiting in recent times. Not to mention even the FOCs (DBS, DRS, FL) who never seemd to take trainees on when I started. You may find your local depot doesn't have vacancies if its a popular or small depot but that doesn't mean the jobs aren't out there!