Transfer to Intercity TOC

[SkinnyDave]

One for the existing drivers
Just a quick one to see how competitive it is for existing drivers if they see positions come up with Virgin,XC and East Coast.
Is the competition as tough as it is for newbies getting into their first driving position?

 

[scotraildriver]

It depends how quickly they need drivers. In a hurry they will advertise for qualified drivers - if part of the long term plan then trainees. Also, the IC companies although pay well can be a bit dull (1 route/traction) and have very limited other opportunities should your driving career become unstuck. For instance we have a few guys who have suffered medical issues and have got other jobs within the company, some of the IC franchises just don't have "other jobs" so you would be made redundant. Money isn't everything.

 

[SkinnyDave]

Cheers for reply

I have been told that the three main intercity TOC won't advertise trainees going forward as thy get qualified drivers easily which in a way answers question-I was looking to see how competitive it is for these jobs amongst qualified candidates if jobs come up

 

[big al]

I noticed earlier this week that Virgin were advertising for a driver trainer at Crewe. Could this mean they may soon be looking to take on trainees? Or do they need a driver trainer for existing drivers?

 

[NI 271]

I noticed earlier this week that Virgin were advertising for a driver trainer at Crewe. Could this mean they may soon be looking to take on trainees? Or do they need a driver trainer for existing drivers?

I'd guess they have ongoing training in house, perhaps a current trainer is up for retirement, leaving for another job, been demoted, ill health...can't see any reason for them needing to take trainee drivers on.

 

[A-driver]

Intercity TOCs take in trainees but only internally. East coast certainly operate the 'old fashioned' way by promoting employees. You start off as a trolly dolly, move to guard then driver etc.

They do take on qualifieds aswell from time to time but very rarely external trainees. They are seen as better to work for as the work is less intense (whilst a suburban driver can do 4 return trips with 80+ stops in a shift an intercity driver may do 1 return trip with 8 stops in a day!) Personally I enjoy a mix of suburban and mainline and could see intercity work becoming rather tedious but that's just me personally.

Virgin recently recruited for qualifieds at several depots but I would Imagen they also take on internal trainees.

The driver trainer position with virgin would be needed weather they take on drivers or not-the trainers don't just train up new drivers, they are used to do refreshers, updates, in some cases routine assessments, help drivers who are off road following an incident etc.

Intercity TOCs arnt always on better money either-east coast make 5k more than we do on the GN electrics but they have compulsory Sundays and less overtime-we arnt far behind if we work our rostered Sundays and a few rest days from time to time.

 

[TDK]

One for the existing drivers
Just a quick one to see how competitive it is for existing drivers if they see positions come up with Virgin,XC and East Coast.
Is the competition as tough as it is for newbies getting into their first driving position?

The competition is extremely tough for these TOC's, VT don't normally even consider a driver with less than 10 years and they must have a clean record, however it is still harder for trainees as there are so many applications.

 

[Beveridges]

Something like 150 qualified drivers applied when Virgin West Coast advertised for 3 driver positions a few months ago!
Like the above post said, it appears that you need to have done a lot of years *and* be incident free to even get considered, but even this alone is not always enough to get through to the Interview!

Is the competition as tough as it is for newbies getting into their first driving position?

It appears to be even tougher in some cases.
Also if a driver has an incident on record, or has not had enough years experience, it is probably next to impossible.
Intercity work is not for everyone, some say its very monotonous if its the same route every day.

 

[reapz]

on the good western depots u need about 10 years + driving to get moved into a hst link (intercity)

 

[E&W Lucas]

Some interesting perceptions above, but not all accurate.

I managed the move to Inter city driving, with less than five years railway service. Plenty of others have too.

Expect the companies to have several hundred CV's on file at any time. Competition, yes, but not insurmountable,

Clean, or near as, driving record. Flexible attitude. It's no good moaning about going five minutes over your day, with long distance work. When things go wrong, they do so in a big way, and the companies want people who will see the job through.

The trolley dolley to driver thing, is a bit of a PR myth. There are people that have done it, and that's great, but the vast majority that I work with, were recruited as qualified drivers from elsewhere.

Having worked on units, I find the Inter City work far more pleasant and varied, I sign more routes, and types of traction, and get involved in more interesting and challenging aspects of the driving task. My level of skill and knowledge, has significantly increased. As for money, far better off. The basic salary for a four day week (or near as), incl. Sundays, is just that. You get more money, for less hours, than the 4 + Sunday contract. The work is less demanding physically too. No sweat box 1980's units.

 

[Beveridges]

Out of interest what TOC is that with?

 

[A-driver]

Some interesting perceptions above, but not all accurate.

I managed the move to Inter city driving, with less than five years railway service. Plenty of others have too.

Expect the companies to have several hundred CV's on file at any time. Competition, yes, but not insurmountable,

Clean, or near as, driving record. Flexible attitude. It's no good moaning about going five minutes over your day, with long distance work. When things go wrong, they do so in a big way, and the companies want people who will see the job through.

The trolley dolley to driver thing, is a bit of a PR myth. There are people that have done it, and that's great, but the vast majority that I work with, were recruited as qualified drivers from elsewhere.

Having worked on units, I find the Inter City work far more pleasant and varied, I sign more routes, and types of traction, and get involved in more interesting and challenging aspects of the driving task. My level of skill and knowledge, has significantly increased. As for money, far better off. The basic salary for a four day week (or near as), incl. Sundays, is just that. You get more money, for less hours, than the 4 + Sunday contract. The work is less demanding physically too. No sweat box 1980's units.

I know quite a few east coast drivers who worked through the ranks, east coast rarely advertise from outside, partly because they don't need to replace drivers as much as other TOCs but also because they do promote from within.

However I completely agree that you don't need much driving experience to move to an intercity company, infact many TOCs, whatever be work, favour newer drivers as they see them as less militant, easier to train, more likely to have a better attitude, less stuck in their ways etc. - my TOC often take on PQA drivers from other companies aswell as drivers with under 5 years driving experience for the reasons I mention above.

 

[scotraildriver]

Remember a good number of Virgins drivers were recruited externally under the Millennium Drivers scheme which saw a huge number of external trainees with Virgin. Not now though....Suppose they all have 10 years plus experience now.

 

[SkinnyDave]

There are around ten apparently ready to retire at Polmadie in next couple of years.
That will be the Scotrail driver pool depleted slightly then

 

[craigybagel]

Virgin don't even recruit internally for trainee drivers. They have in the past, I know of at least one at Wolves who started as a CSA, and as mentioned above they did recruit externally a long way back, but it's been qualified only for several years now. Every VT drivers depot has at least one other companies (several in many cases)driver depot located locally or within an easy commute, so there are plenty of available qualified drivers to take on.

 

[E&W Lucas]

Remember a good number of Virgins drivers were recruited externally under the Millennium Drivers scheme which saw a huge number of external trainees with Virgin. Not now though....Suppose they all have 10 years plus experience now.

All the IC outfits did. They had to replace a lot of retirements in a hurry. Less opportunities for trainees now. Far harder to come up the internal route now, IMHO.
Also seems to vary between depots. About a 2-1 to 3-1 ratio qualified to trainee recruitment, in my experience.

Also, just because a company doesn't advertise, doesn't mean that they aren't recruiting. The first rule of successful career progression!