Talent Pools

[Stigy]

Thank you for your post Wobman, it’s really good to hear training at TfW has restarted albeit slowly. I see the recruitment drive as a huge positive for the business & for everyone involved in TfW.

Do you know if TfW talent pools are similar to GWR in the respect of what was mentioned earlier in this thread that “each talent pool is separate and they only recruit from the next talent pool once the previous one is empty.” Making sure everyone progresses. Or could it be one pool per depot, with highest scores cherry picked?

I have no idea on my personal pool position, I am more than prepared to wait for this opportunity though.

Also to add is there anything that could be recommended for a talent pool candidate to be proactive whilst waiting? I did ask this question to recruitment but never got an answer. I understand from qualified/licensed train drivers going near the rule book is a big no no.

I’m not sure where it was said that TOCs will only recruit from the next pool once the previous one is empty. It’s certainly not necessarily the case at GWR, so I would base any hope on this being the case. I also know of some companies; Freightliner specifically, who have recruited for further talent pools even though the previous once were still at least partly full of applicants. Also, GWR have recruited for 2021 talent pool even though the 2019/20 one is still very much in place. This seems strange if they’re emptying each pool at a time? I appreciate that pools are individually done on a depot by depot basis, but it’s more to do with your individual scoring at interview than the fact that there’s still several hundred candidates in a pool I believe.

It’s advised against reading ahead and looking at the rulebook prior to starting as the course is designed to take you from day one, as if you have absolutely no railway knowledge. Do I regret reading ahead a little bit? Yes. I think it may have aided me a bit, and now I’ve completed all the classroom training I don’t see how reading ahead a it would have had a detrimental affect on my training. As long as you remain level headed and don’t have a “been there, done that” attitude to the learning.

 

[Tz55uk]

I think I'm the unluckiest person at the minute , I passed all assessments in September and October 2018 ,then waited a year for my dmi at saltley September 19, had the call all brilliant, just got to wait for start date, and that's it ,covid smashed all dreams, I personally have given up hope on starting as a driver , the times we live in have dealt so many a blow,best of luck to all in getting in a toc

 

[Stigy]

I think I'm the unluckiest person at the minute , I passed all assessments in September and October 2018 ,then waited a year for my dmi at saltley September 19, had the call all brilliant, just got to wait for start date, and that's it ,covid smashed all dreams, I personally have given up hope on starting as a driver , the times we live in have dealt so many a blow,best of luck to all in getting in a toc

Sorry to hear this. Did they say they were freezing recruitment or did they just tell you to hang tight and they will give you a start date once the pandemic is a bit more under control etc?

 

[Mr Wayne]

Thank you for your input Stigy, I will be new to the industry (currently a HGV Driver) & will have a lot to take in like all external candidates. Is there anything you or anyone could suggest to be proactive whilst waiting in a talent pool?

The quote mentioned before was;

That’s interesting, I wonder if different depots have different ways of working.

During my DMI I was asked to explain my understanding of the talent pool and what would happen if I was successful. I was then told that each talent pool is separate and they only recruit from the next talent pool once the previous one is empty.

I was also told each talent pool is individually ranked, but the lowest scoring person of the previous talent pool will still be ahead in the queue of the following one.

I was also told for my depot that there were still a couple waiting in the talent pool from the previous recruitment drive, therefore they would start first, unless there were multiple positions on the same course.

The way it was explained to me seemed like quite a fair way. You’re still ranked by performance, but waiting time is also taken in to account so if you were a low scorer, you wouldn’t just permanently be bottom of the pile without ever being called up, but obviously as an external candidate I don’t know that’s actually what happens!

I think I'm the unluckiest person at the minute , I passed all assessments in September and October 2018 ,then waited a year for my dmi at saltley September 19, had the call all brilliant, just got to wait for start date, and that's it ,covid smashed all dreams, I personally have given up hope on starting as a driver , the times we live in have dealt so many a blow,best of luck to all in getting in a toc

Fingers crossed you’ll get an email or phone call & start date once there’s more movement in training. Did your TOC/FOC say how long you could be potentially held in your talent pool? I believe it does vary slightly from company to company, I was advised I could be held up to three years. I would politely email recruitment to ask for an update if I were you.

Best of luck.

 

[Stigy]

Thank you for your input Stigy, I will be new to the industry (currently a HGV Driver) & will have a lot to take in like all external candidates. Is there anything you or anyone could suggest to be proactive whilst waiting in a talent pool?

The quote mentioned before was;

It’s very limited as to what you can do to be honest, just hang tight and maybe just if anything, look at obtaining a very basic understanding of railway workings - enough to aid you when you do eventually get a course, not not so as to overwhelm you, because as I said, the course is aimed to train you from scratch. Not necessarily even having to open the Rulebook, but just to get your head around the jargon used will be a good start.

I’d also suggest applying for any other trainee jobs which appear at other TOCs/FOCs and not discard other opportunities based on the fact you’re in a talent pool. As you’ve no doubt ascertained by now, there’s no guaranty of a job being in a talent pool, so any other opportunities which arise you should definitely go for if able to.

 

[Mr Wayne]

Thank you Stigy. You should be perhaps renamed Super Stigy as you do add quite a lot to this forum as I’ve seen on various differing threads.

 

[Stigy]

Thank you Stigy. You should be perhaps renamed Super Stigy as you do add quite a lot to this forum as I’ve seen on various differing threads.

Thank you, you’re very kind, although I wouldn’t want my head to explode

 

[Tz55uk]

I'm in db talent pool also spoke to gbrf and awaiting a interview with them, plus tfw just applied , I'll relocate anywhere in UK, like I say very difficult times ahead, but fingers crossed

 

[dan2610]

Just to clarify - I wasn’t told that GWR only recruit once a previous talent pool is empty. I meant it as training spots will be allocated to any person in the 2019 talent pool, before they start selecting people from the 2020 talent pool, if that makes sense.

I’ve no idea how true that actually is, but at my DMI I was told there were two remaining in the previous talent pool, and even if I was the highest scoring candidate for this recruitment drive, they would be offered the next available course places before me.

 

[tracksider]

I don’t think there’s a thread focussed on talent pools in general, other than specific talent pool related enquiries anyway.

I thought I’d start one to discuss general experiences and information about talent pools for different tocs and roles. I myself am in a driver talent pool for GWR, but I don’t see any point in asking how-long-is-a-piece-of-string type questions, as I know everybody will have different experiences.

It would be interesting to read information around some of the following areas though...

- If you were in a talent pool for your role, how long did you wait?
- If you’re currently in a pool, how long have you been waiting?
- Have you ever been in a pool where your place has expired, or know somebody that has? I know this is probably more common with roles that require shorter training, less common with driving etc...

Any other general questions people have are welcomed. I think it would be good to build up a bank of information about talent pools seeing as it’s not a common practice in a lot of industries, and with uncertainty around so many jobs due to Covid, I imagine a lot more people will be trawling the internet for careers in areas such as the railway.

A non-driver experience here:

- Waited 12 months for one job which I thought would be a dead cert, my place in the pool expired and they didn't reopen applications
- Learned my lesson and applied for more jobs (of various kinds) the year after. I waited just a few days before being offered a job at a very small depot

The lesson? Absolutely do not expect to be offered a job, but also don't give up - apply for as many as you can and the ones you least expect may come through! I feel like it's a lottery in some ways and an increasingly tough process whatever grade job you go for.

 

[Sammy2019]

Talent pools are by no means a guarantee of a job.

passed all assessments for c2c in November of last year. Heard nothing since.

 

[387star]

When did talent pools begin to be used ? I'd say last five years or so. There was a time presumably when you passed the interview for driving and that was it.
I know old school drivers (well early noughties) who had one side of handwtitten A4 to fill in to apply and that was it

 

[CreamNCookies]

A non-driver experience here:

- Waited 12 months for one job which I thought would be a dead cert, my place in the pool expired and they didn't reopen applications
- Learned my lesson and applied for more jobs (of various kinds) the year after. I waited just a few days before being offered a job at a very small depot

The lesson? Absolutely do not expect to be offered a job, but also don't give up - apply for as many as you can and the ones you least expect may come through! I feel like it's a lottery in some ways and an increasingly tough process whatever grade job you go for.

Been there before, receiving the congratulations email but nothing comes to fruition. Now its a case of apply when something of interest becomes available.

 

[jezzer34]

i Applied April 2019, stage 1 Sept 2019, stage 2 Nov 2019, Dmi Feb 2020, into the talent pool March 2020 just before lockdown! No indication of when a course is likely to be run. My hope is 2021. This is with GWR. i was told you go into the talent pool for 5 years from the date of entry. They said its extremely unlikely you would be in a talent pool for 5 years but that is how long it lasts for. A Dream job, with the TOC and depot i want. hopefully i get the call one day.

 

[CreamNCookies]

5 years gives you a much higher chance of getting in than other tocs 9 month talent pool. Fingers crossed you don't have to wait that long and that something comes about soon jezzer34.

 

[DorkingMain]

When I was first trying to get onto the railway, many years ago, I went into a talent pool with Southeastern for a reasonably high level station role. Had a fairly quick assessment and interview process (not *hugely* taxing, compared to the one for becoming traincrew I experienced later on) but then ended up in the talent pool for ages with no end in sight.

I was in the pool for so long that I ended up finding a job as traincrew with a different TOC, working there for around 2-3 years and then finally getting contacted with "We're doing an ongoing check on our talent pools to see if people are still interested in the role if it were to become available". By that point I'd already taken on a higher role with that TOC (knowing the writing was on the wall for my grade) and wasn't interested.

 

[mmh]

This thread has really confirmed my opinion that the concept of talent pools is insulting and arrogance on the part of companies which think it's an acceptable recruitment method.

I applied to FGW years ago before this practice and I'd never have bothered if I'd thought they had such a contemptuous attitude to applicants. That the jobs are heavily in demand is no excuse, it's a sheer disregard for the applicants. You should either recruit for for jobs that exist, or not at all.

 

[DorkingMain]

This thread has really confirmed my opinion that the concept of talent pools is insulting and arrogance on the part of companies which think it's an acceptable recruitment method.

I applied to FGW years ago before this practice and I'd never have bothered if I'd thought they had such a contemptuous attitude to applicants. That the jobs are heavily in demand is no excuse, it's a sheer disregard for the applicants. You should either recruit for for jobs that exist, or not at all.

Yes, I completely agree. Also worth noting - the majority of TOCs are incredibly short of staff in various roles. There should really not be a need for talent pools to exist except in speculative circumstances, and even then recruitment shouldn't start until you've guaranteed a job for those you've gone to the effort of assessing and interviewing.

Unfortunately my experience, throughout, of railway recruitment, was absolutely awful. Every TOC I went to interview / assessment for was painfully disorganised.

 

[Stigy]

This thread has really confirmed my opinion that the concept of talent pools is insulting and arrogance on the part of companies which think it's an acceptable recruitment method.

I applied to FGW years ago before this practice and I'd never have bothered if I'd thought they had such a contemptuous attitude to applicants. That the jobs are heavily in demand is no excuse, it's a sheer disregard for the applicants. You should either recruit for for jobs that exist, or not at all.

From what I’ve seen most railway recruitment Is for actual jobs rather than talent pools, and even then people often don’t hear anything.

The unfortunate fact remains that they don’t really need to have regard for the applicants in mind. People will jump through hoops to get these jobs and it makes better business sense one would assume, to have pools of suitable candidates ready for when jobs arise.

If they just recruit for jobs which exist or for courses they have planned it makes more sense to pick from a pool of a few hundred candidates since these candidates still have to pass medicals and accept the job. If medicals are failed or jobs not accepted, there’s loads more to pick from, relatively easily.

Just to clarify - I wasn’t told that GWR only recruit once a previous talent pool is empty. I meant it as training spots will be allocated to any person in the 2019 talent pool, before they start selecting people from the 2020 talent pool, if that makes sense.

I’ve no idea how true that actually is, but at my DMI I was told there were two remaining in the previous talent pool, and even if I was the highest scoring candidate for this recruitment drive, they would be offered the next available course places before me.

I understand that, however that doesn’t necessarily mean that they will empty all pools of 2019 talent pool candidates, surely? For example, I would imagine there are more people in pools than there are jobs, generally speaking?

 

[Dynamonic]

I applied for a Trainee Depot Driver role with EMT (now EMR) back in October 2017. By December that year, I had successfully completed all four stages of their recruitment process and was in a Talent Pool waiting for a start date. I was told that my Talent Pool position was valid for two years from the date I sat my Stage One assessments. Six months later, in May 2018, I got the dream call with a start date that July.
For me, it turned out to be a great, relatively fast and painless process (not taking into account all the preparation for the assessments and interviews, which, of course, was hard work ). Every person will have a different Talent Pool experience though. I've know people to last the full Talent Pool duration before getting a start date, and I've known people to get 'the call' the same day they were put in the Talent Pool.

When you are put in a Talent Pool, the fact is, the TOC/FOC will have every intention of taking you on, and will have recruited you on the basis of future planned vacancies/expected retirements etc. It's a more efficient system to have than to just keep recruiting separately for every individual vacancy which comes up, which takes up way too much time and resources, and keeps the TOC/FOC on the backfoot all the time. It's far more productive to have small groups of people ready to start, with the assessments behind them, who can be enrolled into the company as soon as they're needed. I get that it can get get stressful for anyone waiting in a Talent Pool, particularly the longer the wait gets. It's important to keep carrying on with life as normal, and when you least expect it, on a seemingly 'normal' day, that phone call just might come.

Of course, there are unforseen situations which can effect the immediate need for staff, and effect the length of time people wait in Talent Pools, or even whether those people waiting can start at all. The obvious example of this is COVID-19, which has crippled recruitment and training across the industry, and has now put the nation's railways in massive training and recruitment backlogs, which will take a long while to clear. No TOC/FOC will have seen that coming when they started their recruitment drives. Previously, as another example, there's been downturns in the freight industry, which saw many freight drivers being negotiated into vacant driving roles across various TOCs, and again extended the wait for people to start from Talent Pools. Again, something which wouldn't have been expected when recruitment started.

It's important to remember that if you make it into a Talent Pool, then you will have done extremely well to make it that far, and the company you applied for will have every intention of getting you onto a course as soon as possible! However, you must not make any drastic life changes just yet, which depend on you actually getting the formal job offer as that's something that comes later, and is sadly not always guaranteed, as much as the TOC/FOC would like to guarantee it.

 

[Stigy]

It's important to remember that if you make it into a Talent Pool, then you will have done extremely well to make it that far, and the company you applied for will have every intention of getting you onto a course as soon as possible! However, you must not make any drastic life changes just yet, which depend on you actually getting the formal job offer as that's something that comes later, and is sadly not always guaranteed, as much as the TOC/FOC would like to guarantee it.

I agree with that definitely.

I also think that to be honest, it’s actually a bit easier to secure a place in a talent pool, as by their very nature there’s more positions available within them. Once you get the email to say you’ve been placed in a talent pool, it also does wonders for your self esteem and confidence, and makes you even more determined to secure place on a course.

 

[LSWR Cavalier]

What are people doing while waiting in talent pools? Other jobs on the railway, other jobs elsewhere, unemployed?
What happens when one gets The Call? Give notice to leave existing job and start xx weeks later?

 

[dan2610]

I understand that, however that doesn’t necessarily mean that they will empty all pools of 2019 talent pool candidates, surely? For example, I would imagine there are more people in pools than there are jobs, generally speaking?

I guess it must depend on the TOC and the specific depot to be honest. From the brief explanation of the process I received at my DMI, and filling in the blanks, these steps seem to have some kind of logic (in my head at least)!

- Recruitment for 2019 talent pool. All successful candidates are put in an individual pool for that depot.
- Candidates are ranked and sorted based on performance after the final interviews for that depot and that particular recruitment drive.
- Positions in that talent pool are fixed, but candidates are not informed of their ranking.
- Gradually candidates are pulled from the pool and start on courses. Meanwhile recruitment for a 2020 pool begins.
- The same process applies. 1 person, the lowest scoring of the 2019 pool, remains in a separate pool, whilst X are placed in Pool 2020.
- Providing the remaining 2019 candidate is still interested and eligible, the next spot goes to them. Then #1 in a Pool 2020 is at the front of the queue.

I think that’s why a poster has mentioned being told that it’s very rare for someone to sit in a pool and not receive an offer at some point. I was told that too, albeit pre-Covid. I assume each drive must have a maximum number, therefore due to workforce demands, retirement etc, there would hopefully be space for you within 5 years - speaking specifically to GWR.

The DMs do stress though, there is no guarantee. I guess they need to do that to avoid any false promises or repercussions. The main spanner in the works is obviously how much time will be added on because of Covid with training taking longer and a drop in passenger numbers. Don’t think that’s a question anyone is in a position to answer confidently though.

 

[Gorlash1886]

I applied in 2018, got invited to assessments end of July 2020, dmi done in the same week, medical done end of August with a start date end of September.

 

[Stigy]

What are people doing while waiting in talent pools? Other jobs on the railway, other jobs elsewhere, unemployed?
What happens when one gets The Call? Give notice to leave existing job and start xx weeks later?

Most people have jobs already and simply stay where they are. Once they are offered a job, there’s (usually) plenty of time before a start date too (medical has to be done as well as all the necessary references etc). It’s advised that if other trainee jobs come up, you should apply and not assume because you’re in a pool you’ll be offered a job.

 

[Mr Wayne]

Keep a copy of your answers to your personal statement questions for the interview stage as they will question your answers & ask for more details.
Research keolis / amey & there relationship with the WAG, plus the franchise plans for routes / units & future plans for the franchise.
The forums are also full of information but don't bother understanding rules etc as it will be all part of training

Thank you for your post Wobman and wise words of advice that I’ll take. I’ll make sure I’m ready to impress should I hopefully get the call or email, it’s a dream job for a TOC that so many people have only very good things say about.

 

[Class-jnr]

Has anyone had the medical for the drivers role whilst been in the talent pool? How long did you have to wait before getting a course date?
I had my medical two weeks ago (passed and now waiting.

 

[Metal_gee_man]

It's a challenging topic of conversation for me, because I applied for Platform/train despatch/gateline Staff (East Kent) in early 2017 with SE, went for an assessment in mid 2017 put in the talent pool and kept getting we still have you in the pool when a position comes up... Yada... Yada... Yada... Eventually I get an invite for an interview Dec 2019, I am successful, I move on to the next stage awaiting a job offer subject to medical, and now 3 year 6 months on I still get a regular email claiming they haven't forgotten about me as soon as a position becomes available I will get the call.

In this time I've been made redundant when a company bought my old company, I then immediately got re-employed in a different role with the new company and find myself on the verge of being made redundant again because of Covid so SE could do with pulling their fingers out in my situation

 

[Stigy]

Has anyone had the medical for the drivers role whilst been in the talent pool? How long did you have to wait before getting a course date?
I had my medical two weeks ago (passed and now waiting.

From me experience, the medical usually occurs when you’re offered a start date, so you’re technically out of the pool.

 

[Dynamonic]

From me experience, the medical usually occurs when you’re offered a start date, so you’re technically out of the pool.

Yeah, this was the case with me. I was invited to book my medical as soon as I got my start date.

I’d expect if it was the other way round, it would likely be because the TOC expect to give you a start date shortly.

Your medical should obviously be up to date prior to you starting, to ensure an accurate picture of your current health, so I wouldn’t have thought you’d have a medical whilst you’re just sat waiting in the Talent Pool if there was still no expected start date.