Transport for Wales - Trainee Train Drivers

[CardiffDan]

Evening all. Hope everyone is well. Just wondering regarding DMIs whether others were ridiculously relaxed. As it was a final interview I was expecting a grilling, but it was very relaxed and quite a few jokes and laughs about life etc. Not sure that's a good sign

 

[Plodster]

Evening all. Hope everyone is well. Just wondering regarding DMIs whether others were ridiculously relaxed. As it was a final interview I was expecting a grilling, but it was very relaxed and quite a few jokes and laughs about life etc. Not sure that's a good sign

Found mine felt very relaxed last summer
There were a few parts where it was important to answer specific questions with examples and they reminded me at these stages but others where it was a conversation and felt relaxed for sure with some humour etc
You will have loads of the required skill set coming from your background

 

[CardiffDan]

Found mine felt very relaxed last summer
There were a few parts where it was important to answer specific questions with examples and they reminded me at these stages but others where it was a conversation and felt relaxed for sure with some humour etc
You will have loads of the required skill set coming from your background

That's good to know it wasn't just mine then. The two managers were brilliant mind.

One of them had been a special for 8 years, so half my time there was spent with him asking if I knew all different officers lol.

 

[birchgrovebach]

I have my DMI in just under 2 weeks, passed my computer and MMI end of last week. I have applied for Carmarthen and just wondering what kind of questioning to prepare for. Expecting to have some sort of grilling with it being a formal interview, the MMI surprised me with how formal that was despite the initial ice breaking chat helping to relax the situation. Didn't think i did enough in that to progress to the DMI but somehow did.

 

[CardiffDan]

I have my DMI in just under 2 weeks, passed my computer and MMI end of last week. I have applied for Carmarthen and just wondering what kind of questioning to prepare for. Expecting to have some sort of grilling with it being a formal interview, the MMI surprised me with how formal that was despite the initial ice breaking chat helping to relax the situation. Didn't think i did enough in that to progress to the DMI but somehow did.

I think it's natural to come out thinking like that. I'm sat here thinking the same, and wondering when I can apply again as I'm not confident I said enough in the dmi.

There are mainly competency based questions. Similar to the MMI.

Bit about yourself to start with, general getting to know you questions.

As I said above very relaxed which is a good thing, wasn't how I expected it to be.

If you search DMI in the bar above there's some good tips. However some points didn't come up in mine, so guessing it varies depending on what they want

 

[birchgrovebach]

I think it's natural to come out thinking like that. I'm sat here thinking the same, and wondering when I can apply again as I'm not confident I said enough in the dmi.

There are mainly competency based questions. Similar to the MMI.

Bit about yourself to start with, general getting to know you questions.

As I said above very relaxed which is a good thing, wasn't how I expected it to be.

If you search DMI in the bar above there's some good tips. However some points didn't come up in mine, so guessing it varies depending on what they want

Excellent, thanks for the help. would be gut wrenching to get this far and fail at the last step. Currently have my kitchen cupboards decorated in post-it notes with bits of info and reminders

 

[CardiffDan]

Has anyone done their DMI recently and heard anything. The wait after each stage is worse than the assessments and interviews

 

[Simotrfc]

Has anyone done their DMI recently and heard anything. The wait after each stage is worse than the assessments and interviews

I’d went along the lines of no news is usually good news mate. It’s a frustrating wait, but I guess they’ll tell you if you’ve failed a lot quicker than if you’ve passed. Good luck!

 

[CardiffDan]

I’d went along the lines of no news is usually good news mate. It’s a frustrating wait, but I guess they’ll tell you if you’ve failed a lot quicker than if you’ve passed. Good luck!

I'm trying to think along the same lines. Just think it's the worst possible stage to fail at. I'll stop refreshing emails for a day or so

 

[Simotrfc]

I'm trying to think along the same lines. Just think it's the worst possible stage to fail at. I'll stop refreshing emails for a day or so

I was the same mate. Every 10 mins. Checking my junk, going over every answer an wishing I’d said more! I figured they’d let me know sharpish if I hadn’t made the grade

 

[Gomer Pyle]

Hi guys

Hope all are well. What a campaign this has been? Anyone else still hanging in there? I applied in July 2020, received a few emails saying the application was still progressing then nothing for over a year. I received an email update notifying me that I’d been shortlisted in Jan this year and that they required my NI number to progress. I duly passed this on. I received the automated response but nothing more. I see many others here have since had their DMI. Obviously different depots have different requirements; I applied for Crewe. I have passes to National standard but not through TFW. I was wondering if anyone else here was in the same scenario or had any news. Any information would be greatly received. Cheers.

 

[New York Giant]

Hi guys

Hope all are well. What a campaign this has been? Anyone else still hanging in there? I applied in July 2020, received a few emails saying the application was still progressing then nothing for over a year. I received an email update notifying me that I’d been shortlisted in Jan this year and that they required my NI number to progress. I duly passed this on. I received the automated response but nothing more. I see many others here have since had their DMI. Obviously different depots have different requirements; I applied for Crewe. I have passes to National standard but not through TFW. I was wondering if anyone else here was in the same scenario or had any news. Any information would be greatly received. Cheers.

Similar position, not exactly the same. Applied around the same time as you and since received regular emails, either asking me to remain patient or to confirm that I was still interested. I received two emails at the start of this year inviting me to attend assessment days in Cardiff, however both times I replied I received emails saying that the assessment dates had been filled (the first of which I replied within an hour and still got pipped). I've since sat the paper assessments with another TOC, and although I didn't meet their enhanced on the day I've since learned that the score I achieved met TfW's enhanced level, with their database being updated to reflect this.

In for Shrewsbury and Crewe. I've been having regular PM conversations with another forum member who was in a similar position to us. He's just finished the classroom based training and is now currently out with a DI so this gives me hope.

 

[CardiffDan]

Wow didn't think it was that long for people. I had my DMI Friday last week. Still waiting to hear.

The only positive I can give is they told me the talent pool was close to empty so should speed things along for others waiting.

 

[New York Giant]

It's been a while but at least I know I'm not alone. It does seem that South Wales Metro is the focus, probably the reason that waiting times are far shorter for candidates like yourself.
Still stuff happening for the bordering depots I think, its just gone a bit quiet on here.

Wow didn't think it was that long for people. I had my DMI Friday last week. Still waiting to hear.

The only positive I can give is they told me the talent pool was close to empty so should speed things along for others waiting.

 

[Gomer Pyle]

Similar position, not exactly the same. Applied around the same time as you and since received regular emails, either asking me to remain patient or to confirm that I was still interested. I received two emails at the start of this year inviting me to attend assessment days in Cardiff, however both times I replied I received emails saying that the assessment dates had been filled (the first of which I replied within an hour and still got pipped). I've since sat the paper assessments with another TOC, and although I didn't meet their enhanced on the day I've since learned that the score I achieved met TfW's enhanced level, with their database being updated to reflect this.

In for Shrewsbury and Crewe. I've been having regular PM conversations with another forum member who was in a similar position to us. He's just finished the classroom based training and is now currently out with a DI so this gives me hope.

Thanks for the reply. Sorry to hear you got pipped to your assessments. It sounds promising though. And like you say, you’re not alone. This forum has been brilliant for keeping abreast but unfortunately I’ve had nothing to add. Fingers crossed that something happens soon.

 

[CardiffDan]

Finally heard. I'm in the talent pool. Sorry to keep on, but thanks for all the advice throughout. Happy to help where I can with others going through it

 

[Plodster]

Finally heard. I'm in the talent pool. Sorry to keep on, but thanks for all the advice throughout. Happy to help where I can with others going through it

Congratulations
Good result. Hopefully you won’t be waiting too long for a course.
You won’t look back

 

[Ieupm]

I had an email on 4th May saying I’m successful in reaching the Driver Managers Interview and they will let me know a date…am I making myself over nervous as it is now 27th June and I still haven’t had a date? How long did everyone else have to wait? I applied for Carmarthen and Cardiff Trainee Driver, thanks and any advice would be superb to ease the nerves

 

[CardiffDan]

I had an email on 4th May saying I’m successful in reaching the Driver Managers Interview and they will let me know a date…am I making myself over nervous as it is now 27th June and I still haven’t had a date? How long did everyone else have to wait? I applied for Carmarthen and Cardiff Trainee Driver, thanks and any advice would be superb to ease the nerves

Drop them an email. I was emailed that I passed. Withing a week had my DMI.

I do think other depots seem to be slower than Cardiff. But as you applied there aswell thought you would have known by now

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 27 Jun 2022 ==

Congratulations
Good result. Hopefully you won’t be waiting too long for a course.
You won’t look back

Cheers mate. Hoping it's not too long before I can say goodbye to case files

 

[craigwales]

Finally heard. I'm in the talent pool. Sorry to keep on, but thanks for all the advice throughout. Happy to help where I can with others going through it

Congrats Dan!

I had an email on 4th May saying I’m successful in reaching the Driver Managers Interview and they will let me know a date…am I making myself over nervous as it is now 27th June and I still haven’t had a date? How long did everyone else have to wait? I applied for Carmarthen and Cardiff Trainee Driver, thanks and any advice would be superb to ease the nerves

I had an email August 2nd saying the same and then didn't have my DMI until April. Don't stress about it

 

[CardiffDan]

Congrats Dan!

I had an email August 2nd saying the same and then didn't have my DMI until April. Don't stress about it

Cheers mate

 

[birchgrovebach]

I had an email on 4th May saying I’m successful in reaching the Driver Managers Interview and they will let me know a date…am I making myself over nervous as it is now 27th June and I still haven’t had a date? How long did everyone else have to wait? I applied for Carmarthen and Cardiff Trainee Driver, thanks and any advice would be superb to ease the nerves

I passed my mmi and computer assessment on 16th of May for Carmarthen. I had an email the following day informing me i had passed these and within an hour of that email i was given a date for my DMI which is on the 30th of this month

 

[danludd]

I had an email on 4th May saying I’m successful in reaching the Driver Managers Interview and they will let me know a date…am I making myself over nervous as it is now 27th June and I still haven’t had a date? How long did everyone else have to wait? I applied for Carmarthen and Cardiff Trainee Driver, thanks and any advice would be superb to ease the nerves

Send them an email, I've found they're pretty good at getting back to you, takes a few days but they've always got back to me.

 

[Simotrfc]

Finally heard. I'm in the talent pool. Sorry to keep on, but thanks for all the advice throughout. Happy to help where I can with others going through it

Well in mate

 

[Jacob Didcote]

Hi All,
Although it's not a proper drivers position, I have an interview tomorrow for the Shunter/Driver role at TfW. Not sure what the questions will entail. Can anyone give any hints as to what they may ask. Bearing in mind this is the first interview. I know the general tell us about yourself, what I think the role is about, what do you know about the company etc. Any "tell me a time when you have..." questions. Just making sure I am prepared!
Thanks
Jake.

 

[Diedinium]

Hi All,
Although it's not a proper drivers position, I have an interview tomorrow for the Shunter/Driver role at TfW. Not sure what the questions will entail. Can anyone give any hints as to what they may ask. Bearing in mind this is the first interview. I know the general tell us about yourself, what I think the role is about, what do you know about the company etc. Any "tell me a time when you have..." questions. Just making sure I am prepared!
Thanks
Jake.

I did a DMI recently - the vast majority of the questions were those "Tell us of a time where you..." sort questions.

The most important one is to prepare for the "Tell us a time where you've handled an emergency situation" or similar, think of something relevant you've experienced that you can talk about there - make sure it's something that paints you in a positive light though, an emergency situation where you didn't react well to it wouldn't be a great example to talk about.

Other questions were things like "Tell us a time where you've worked under regulations/rules" or the classic "What do you think makes you stand out"/"Why should we pick you over the other candidates" question.

Be prepared for some oddities as well. For example, pay attention to your journey to the interview, they may ask you to explain in detail how you got there (as a way of testing your memory/how much you pay attention when driving or otherwise travelling) - I didn't get asked this one in particular, but I've heard it comes up. One I did get asked though was "You're driving to work, and your car breaks down on [nearby motorway] - what do you do?" - they're obviously expecting you to explain how you'd still aim to get to work (so think about taxis, family/friends you could call for help and stuff like that - they want to hear that you'd prioritise getting to work over your car).

Good luck with the interview though, the one I attended was for a mainline driving role, so I'm not sure how different a shunting focused roles interview questions would be, hopefully this helps though.

 

[Jacob Didcote]

I did a DMI recently - the vast majority of the questions were those "Tell us of a time where you..." sort questions.

The most important one is to prepare for the "Tell us a time where you've handled an emergency situation" or similar, think of something relevant you've experienced that you can talk about there - make sure it's something that paints you in a positive light though, an emergency situation where you didn't react well to it wouldn't be a great example to talk about.

Other questions were things like "Tell us a time where you've worked under regulations/rules" or the classic "What do you think makes you stand out"/"Why should we pick you over the other candidates" question.

Be prepared for some oddities as well. For example, pay attention to your journey to the interview, they may ask you to explain in detail how you got there (as a way of testing your memory/how much you pay attention when driving or otherwise travelling) - I didn't get asked this one in particular, but I've heard it comes up. One I did get asked though was "You're driving to work, and your car breaks down on [nearby motorway] - what do you do?" - they're obviously expecting you to explain how you'd still aim to get to work (so think about taxis, family/friends you could call for help and stuff like that - they want to hear that you'd prioritise getting to work over your car).

Good luck with the interview though, the one I attended was for a mainline driving role, so I'm not sure how different a shunting focused roles interview questions would be, hopefully this helps though.

Thanks for getting back to me. I think the interview went really well....well I tried my best anyways. Asked a lot of tell me a time when etc. Then asked me a technical question like how do I think a train would be prepared...my inner nerd came out...they seemed to of liked it but we'll find out

 

[mic1610]

Deleted

 

[Jacob Didcote]

Was just gonna ask you the same. I've not heard anything

Regarding?

 

[CardiffDan]

All moving very quick. I got a potential start date of September. Only applied in April. Anyone else potentially on that course