A career as a signaller

Allaboard78 · 4 Apr 2020

Yes sorry, wales roc.

Thank you so much for your help.

Do you happen to know what grade that is?

RailUK Forums

Cavan · 4 Apr 2020

Allaboard78 said:
A few people on here have mentioned just getting in anywhere and then moving because you have access to the infamous internal list. Is there anyone here that can tell me how many internal vacancies are currently in the wroc? Thank you to all the invaluable advice on this forum. It's such a good help.

Remember you have to serve 12 months at your initial location. I'm not sure if that is 12 months from start date or 12 months productive in location. Also remember at interviews it will not go down well if you hint you want to move on quickly (even if its the truth!) as the LOM won't want the arse ache of recruiting again if possible.

High Dyke · 4 Apr 2020

Allaboard78 said:
Yes sorry, wales roc.

Thank you so much for your help.

Do you happen to know what grade that is?

Shown as:

Code:

Grade: Signaller Grade 5
Salary: £38,354 per annum
Location: Swansea Relief post

It doesn't specify the relief premium %. Perhaps someone more local may know.

Allaboard78 · 4 Apr 2020

Cavan said:
Remember you have to serve 12 months at your initial location. I'm not sure if that is 12 months from start date or 12 months productive in location. Also remember at interviews it will not go down well if you hint you want to move on quickly (even if its the truth!) as the LOM won't want the arse ache of recruiting again if possible.

Is this new? My friend got a new job whilst in signaller school?

Allaboard78 · 4 Apr 2020

High Dyke said:
Shown as:

Code:

Grade: Signaller Grade 5 Salary: £38,354 per annum Location: Swansea Relief post

It doesn't specify the relief premium %. Perhaps someone more local may know.

Thank you!!!! How long is the closing date? I promise that is the very last thing I will ask!!!!

LincsBobby · 4 Apr 2020

MostlyHarmless said:
Thanks for posting this - it's really helpful. I've just been offered a position so I'm wondering how you found signalling school?

Honestly? Coming from no prior railway knowledge i found it very hard from start to finish. Hard being away from family and being back in the class room for the first time in many years. Get the sense that they want you to pass but at the same time they're constantly drilling into you that you could fail on this and that etc etc. Which is underatandable of course being the nature of the job they need to know you are competent. Depends how u learn though. I really had to hit the books hard every evening i was there. Some guys were able to relax more and habe a couple of pints most evenings. If i'd of done that i would have probably failed so i kept it to a thursday. Then of course you can't really let ur hair down properly because of drugs and alcohol testing. So yeah happy to have got it out of the way, wanted to enjoy it but didn't but was a great achievement to pass at the end of the 12/13 weeks.

LincsBobby · 4 Apr 2020

No you do not have to serve 12 months in your applied for position before applying for other jobs. I know of a few that had already applied and accomplished higher grade positions from the 1 they applied for before even finishing signalling school. Although i imagine different areas may have different unwritten rules on thats subject.

High Dyke · 4 Apr 2020

Allaboard78 said:
Thank you!!!! How long is the closing date? I promise that is the very last thing I will ask!!!!

Shown as 13th April 2020

Kraken · 4 Apr 2020

High Dyke said:
Sorry, I hadn't spotted this post earlier. As Tomnick posted. To add, both locations have manual worked gates, with a CCTV crossing at Rauceby. The shift patterns are just over 8 hours on both early & late turns (Mon - Sat). Currently Sibsey has one Sunday shift all year round; Rauceby has two Sunday shifts between May - September (Summer), and one shift during September - May (Winter).

Magic, thanks High Dyke (with that name and avatar I’m imagining South Lincs is not unknown to you!). I’ve got some serious thinking to do in that case as I assume will shifts like that there won’t be a huge amount of ways to augment the salary. I get the ‘foot in the door’ argument but it still feels a little bit of a poor show to go for a job with the express intention of moving on soon after qualifying.

Tom Quinne · 4 Apr 2020

High Dyke said:
Shown as:

Code:

Grade: Signaller Grade 5 Salary: £38,354 per annum Location: Swansea Relief post

It doesn't specify the relief premium %. Perhaps someone more local may know.

4% relief premium - signing Rhyl, Shrewsbury North & Swansea workstations.

They’ve just had a huge recruitment drive to fully man the place so I think this will probably be the last for a while.

Kraken · 4 Apr 2020

LincsBobby said:
Honestly? Coming from no prior railway knowledge i found it very hard from start to finish. Hard being away from family and being back in the class room for the first time in many years. Get the sense that they want you to pass but at the same time they're constantly drilling into you that you could fail on this and that etc etc. Which is underatandable of course being the nature of the job they need to know you are competent. Depends how u learn though. I really had to hit the books hard every evening i was there. Some guys were able to relax more and habe a couple of pints most evenings. If i'd of done that i would have probably failed so i kept it to a thursday. Then of course you can't really let ur hair down properly because of drugs and alcohol testing. So yeah happy to have got it out of the way, wanted to enjoy it but didn't but was a great achievement to pass at the end of the 12It’s

Your candour is really appreciated - it’s good to hear about the course warts and all. Thanks. Have you started in your new position yet?

MostlyHarmless · 4 Apr 2020

Lee1280 said:
Yes, Feltham! Was really nice to get that email confirmation especially in current climate

Nice one...! now the wait until we get a medical and ultimately a starting date

High Dyke · 4 Apr 2020

Kraken said:
Magic, thanks High Dyke (with that name and avatar I’m imagining South Lincs is not unknown to you!). I’ve got some serious thinking to do in that case as I assume will shifts like that there won’t be a huge amount of ways to augment the salary. I get the ‘foot in the door’ argument but it still feels a little bit of a poor show to go for a job with the express intention of moving on soon after qualifying.

Indeed. I also sign the locations you asked of. With a couple of vacancies and things like annual leave then there will always be a chance of overtime, but it's not guaranteed. I know, I've just had overtime cancelled for the last week or so. However, don't let that put you off. There's always two sides to the 'foot in the door' debate. In the past I've ben allowed to move on before I'd been at one location for 12 months, but my colleague next door - at the time - applied to move and was refused due to the '12 month rule'. As someone has mentioned it's one of those unwritten rules that seem to be lost in the mists of time. Equally, there have been times when staff have been moved on prematurely by their manager.

MostlyHarmless · 4 Apr 2020

LincsBobby said:
Honestly? Coming from no prior railway knowledge i found it very hard from start to finish. Hard being away from family and being back in the class room for the first time in many years. Get the sense that they want you to pass but at the same time they're constantly drilling into you that you could fail on this and that etc etc. Which is underatandable of course being the nature of the job they need to know you are competent. Depends how u learn though. I really had to hit the books hard every evening i was there. Some guys were able to relax more and habe a couple of pints most evenings. If i'd of done that i would have probably failed so i kept it to a thursday. Then of course you can't really let ur hair down properly because of drugs and alcohol testing. So yeah happy to have got it out of the way, wanted to enjoy it but didn't but was a great achievement to pass at the end of the 12/13 weeks.

Thanks for the reply. It's a shame you didn't enjoy the experience but great that you completed and passed the course.

I'm looking forward to the course as I really enjoy learning new stuff. I also don't really have any family ties so staying away isn't really an issue for me. Don't have a start date of yet so it's all moot at the moment!

LOM · 4 Apr 2020

LincsBobby said:
No you do not have to serve 12 months in your applied for position before applying for other jobs. I know of a few that had already applied and accomplished higher grade positions from the 1 they applied for before even finishing signalling school. Although i imagine different areas may have different unwritten rules on thats subject.

The official stance is that you do have to wait a year but it can be waived at you LOMs discretion. It costs a lot of money out the budget to recruit and train a new signaller from scratch so most managers, myself included, take a dim view of people moving on quickly. That said I have never actively prevented any of my newer guys leaving if they have managed to get another job elsewhere within the year, which has happened a few times.

Allaboard78 · 4 Apr 2020

Tom Quinne said:
4% relief premium - signing Rhyl, Shrewsbury North & Swansea workstations.

They’ve just had a huge recruitment drive to fully man the place so I think this will probably be the last for a while.

Brilliant how do you know so much!!!

Tom Quinne · 4 Apr 2020

Allaboard78 said:
Brilliant how do you know so much!!!

That would be telling...

Midlands_lad · 4 Apr 2020

Did anyone on here commute every day whist at signaller school? I ask as the commute to my signalling school will only be 30 minutes and as I have a young family I will probably commute daily. Do people think that I may suffer by not being with the class to socialise etc and not getting more time on the simulators?

nom de guerre · 4 Apr 2020

Tom Quinne said:
That would be telling...

Wanderer84 · 5 Apr 2020

LOM said:
I am sorry to hear that. In my experience as a hiring manager the vast majority of applicants pass the SHL tests. If there are a lot of applicants for a job it then comes down to the quality of your CV to progress to an interview. Typically we only interview 5 or 6 applicants for each post. It is a numbers game unfortunately. Perhaps you should ask a friend to take a look at your CV with a critical eye to make sure it is as polished as you can make it.

NR does have an additional resource online for tailoring your CV for the role. I don't have the link, but it is a couple of pages back.
Alternatively, google:
Network Rail Redeployment Services
and look for a .pdf file for CV writing.

LincsBobby · 5 Apr 2020

Midlands_lad said:
Did anyone on here commute every day whist at signaller school? I ask as the commute to my signalling school will only be 30 minutes and as I have a young family I will probably commute daily. Do people think that I may suffer by not being with the class to socialise etc and not getting more time on the simulators?

I personally needed all the time i could get on the simulator ans studying time. Unless u learn really quickly and you have a brain like a sponge you will need to as well. Put it this way my class and myself all stayed through the week and really felt like we needed to. Your in a bubble for 12 weeks basically and u need to be cos there's alot of pressure. Go home at the weekend and spend time with your family but personally i would advise you to stay in the hotel with the rest of your class, even despite the short commute.

LincsBobby · 5 Apr 2020

Kraken said:
Your candour is really appreciated - it’s good to hear about the course warts and all. Thanks. Have you started in your new position yet?

Yes i have just officially been all passed out.

Midlands_lad · 5 Apr 2020

LincsBobby said:
I personally needed all the time i could get on the simulator ans studying time. Unless u learn really quickly and you have a brain like a sponge you will need to as well. Put it this way my class and myself all stayed through the week and really felt like we needed to. Your in a bubble for 12 weeks basically and u need to be cos there's alot of pressure. Go home at the weekend and spend time with your family but personally i would advise you to stay in the hotel with the rest of your class, even despite the short commute.

Thank you for your response, is the course really that difficult? Can I ask did everyone on your course pass? I am slightly worried about the course as I have no previous rail experience and have such a lot to loose if I don’t make the grade.

badger1badger · 5 Apr 2020

Hi Everyone

I have applied for a couple of positions as trainee signallers.

I have passed the initial application and now asked to do an online assessment.

I can not seem to see the links on my profile.

any help or guidance would be great

cheers

7Paul7 · 5 Apr 2020

badger1badger said:
Hi Everyone

I have applied for a couple of positions as trainee signallers.

I have passed the initial application and now asked to do an online assessment.

I can not seem to see the links on my profile.

any help or guidance would be great

cheers

The online Assesment link should come in an email

badger1badger · 5 Apr 2020

Cheers

amanda08 · 5 Apr 2020

badger1badger said:
Hi Everyone

I have applied for a couple of positions as trainee signallers.

I have passed the initial application and now asked to do an online assessment.

I can not seem to see the links on my profile.

any help or guidance would be great

cheers

I struggled with that too. It's at the very bottom of the email attachment - hardly looks like a link
Good luck

Allaboard78 · 5 Apr 2020

Mmm, the abercynon job seems to have disappeared??

badger1badger · 5 Apr 2020

Thanks

yeh saw that but for someone reason could not click on the link to make it open

May copy and paste into my browser ?

amanda08 · 5 Apr 2020

badger1badger said:
Thanks

yeh saw that but for someone reason could not click on the link to make it open

May copy and paste into my browser ?

I had to log on to nwr site, go to the email there on my profile and the link worked. Also would not work for me from email but I thought that was just my glitch lol

A career as a signaller

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