Hi everyone,
I work for the airline industry and I am looking for a career change. I have been looking for train driver jobs in different train operator companys around my area but they require "qualified drivers". Is there a way to qualify as a driver by studying by yourself and attending a competency exam? I am a qualified teacher and 47 years old so I am not sure if my age would be an impediment. It really is heart breaking to find out how many applicants there are for just a handful of vacancies and if I am completely honest it feels like an impossible race to win. Nevertheless, I would like to ask you guys what's the best way to become a train driver or to explain the different paths available so I can determine the best way forward. Thank you very much for your help.
Ok, first thing to do is look at the sticky at the top of this forum and check what depots are within an hour of your house. (It’s true some companies will let you relocate but most aren’t keen on this as they know you’re likely to leave after 2 years). Check TOCs and FOCs.
Then sign up for job alerts from the companies you find nearest. There’s a few tocs that are pointless trying to check (virgin for example) but the more the better. Check the websites EVERY DAY! make it part of your daily routine as the email alerts can be late or non existent at times.
Then you’ve got to fine tune your application, you’ll only have 48 hours to submit it in a lot of cases, but keep saving your answers to MSword so you can fine tune them at a later date. Most companies ask the same kind of question, you can adapt them to suit the TOC/FOC.
This is just the start. There’s a fair few more steps after this, but this forum has already answered every question you can think of, keep reading and reading.
Regards training, there’s absolutely nothing you can do yourself due to the nature of the job, you have to start as a trainee driver somewhere. But it’s not as hard as it sounds, as long as you adapt and can take failure for a couple of years. And your age is nothing to worry about at all. I’ve seen trainees of 57 and I’m sure there’s been older too.
Hope this helps.