Assessments & Medicals discussion

[Stigy]

From my experience it was always a “ok, that’s a shame, goodbye forever” as there was zero flexibility from the TOCs on it.

The irony was that they want people from shift working, safety critical backgrounds but all I tried essentially told me “please attend this assessment centre at 9am in 7 days time” which for many in these types of role is impossible.

I eventually got lucky and got a date that matched up with a day off and now I’m in.

So if I were you I’d be doing anything possible to get to that assessment, I hear very few stories of flexibility but many stories of zero flexibility.

It’s annoying knowing that if I’d managed to get to the original assessments I’d potentially have been a driver 9 years before I eventually became one.

The problem is, it’s a captive audience and they really don’t need to bend over backwards to help people out.

I did everything I could to attend assessments and interviews even if working, however I was lucky that for most of these invitations I was in a position to essentially do what I want, albeit deliberately staying under the radar sometimes. I was also told that if I was unable to attend my medical on the date offered, I’d be unlikely to be offered another one. For the medical, I simply spoke to my manager and explained to him and said it was something I need to do one way or another and he understood.

 

[Dan16]

Hey ,

You’ve probably had this question a lot but I’ve made it through to the Assessment centre in Crewe for the assessment which consists of these tests :

• The Group Bourdon Concentration Test
• The Test of Everyday Attention for Occupational Assessment (TEA-Occ)
• The Trainability for Rules and Procedures Test Part 1 and 2

Any advice or help with any of these will be much appreciated. Preferably the (trainabilty for rules part 1 & 2)

Many thanks

Dan

 

[Leroypalmer]

Hi I’ve currently going through the application process for a trainee train driver and I’m currently ongoing “stage 1” as I’ve passed the VSE and M7 tests and now have been invited to take more tests in person. What to expect on the day, and what resources are available to help prepare on the day, thank you

Leroy

 

[Melissa9891]

I’ve just passed my interview with LNER for the apprentice train driver and the next step is doing the psychometric tests. The company has sent me out the standard booklet but I’ve been told by a friend who is a trainee driver for southern that there are different types of psychometric tests.

I’m just trying to find out what type of tests I could be studying for.

Hope someone can guide me

 

[dannym170543]

Hey ,

You’ve probably had this question a lot but I’ve made it through to the Assessment centre in Crewe for the assessment which consists of these tests :

• The Group Bourdon Concentration Test
• The Test of Everyday Attention for Occupational Assessment (TEA-Occ)
• The Trainability for Rules and Procedures Test Part 1 and 2

Any advice or help with any of these will be much appreciated. Preferably the (trainabilty for rules part 1 & 2)

Many thanks

Dan

The trainibility for rules 1 & 2 was the GLOP memory test. Given a paragraph to read for 5 minutes, can make notes if you wish but these are then taken away. Then answer multiple choice questions to see if you've retained the information. Part 2 is the fault finding with cables and dials, pretty straight forward, they explain it to you first and get to practice. Then you get 43ish I think in 7 minutes.

 

[KiltedExplorer]

Congratulations on passing your interview! What depot did you apply for?

I passed my interview for LNER Edinburgh depot last month and passed the psychometrics shortly afterwards. I can confirm psychometrics for LNER are the same as other TOC’s and are just the standard pen/paper and computer tests as issued by the OPC. They do require an enhanced pass though, but I’m sure you’ll do great!

 

[Melissa9891]

Congratulations on passing your interview! What depot did you apply for?

I passed my interview for LNER Edinburgh depot last month and passed the psychometrics shortly afterwards. I can confirm psychometrics for LNER are the same as other TOC’s and are just the standard pen/paper and computer tests as issued by the OPC. They do require an enhanced pass though, but I’m sure you’ll do great!

Amazing congratulations too on passing. Can I ask how long after the interview did you do the assessment?
Are you on the apprenticeship?
Did they offer you a role straight away or will you be put into a pool?

X

Congratulations on passing your interview! What depot did you apply for?

I passed my interview for LNER Edinburgh depot last month and passed the psychometrics shortly afterwards. I can confirm psychometrics for LNER are the same as other TOC’s and are just the standard pen/paper and computer tests as issued by the OPC. They do require an enhanced pass though, but I’m sure you’ll do great!

Sorry I didn’t actually answer your question. I applied for the King’s Cross depot in london

Im really really scared of the psychometric tests
How do I study for it?
How did you find it ?

 

[Dan16]

The trainibility for rules 1 & 2 was the GLOP memory test. Given a paragraph to read for 5 minutes, can make notes if you wish but these are then taken away. Then answer multiple choice questions to see if you've retained the information. Part 2 is the fault finding with cables and dials, pretty straight forward, they explain it to you first and get to practice. Then you get 43ish I think in 7 minutes.

Cheers Mate, helpful

 

[MrFord]

Hello all...

Has anyone done the assessment day at DB Cargo..??

Was wondering what to expect...

TIA

 

[BigPondFish]

Hello all...

Has anyone done the assessment day at DB Cargo..??

Was wondering what to expect...

TIA

What role is this for?

 

[MrFord]

Trainee Driver

 

[BigPondFish]

Trainee Driver

Ah, Sorry I have only done an assessment for Mobile Operative.

 

[MrFord]

Thanks for the reply....

Ah, Sorry I have only done an assessment for Mobile Operative

Thanks for the reply....

Thanks for the reply...

 

[SuperS16v]

Hello all...

Has anyone done the assessment day at DB Cargo..??

Was wondering what to expect...

TIA

Which Depot?

DB do both paper and computer tests in the same day, so prepare for a long day. If you fail the paper tests they will send you home.

All the info to help you pass is on these forums. Use the search bar to your advantage.

 

[MrFord]

Which Depot?

DB do both paper and computer tests in the same day, so prepare for a long day. If you fail the paper tests they will send you home.

All the info to help you pass is on these forums. Use the search bar to your advantage.

Westbury...

Right ok,I'll have a look through the site and see what I can find.
They have sent me an 85 pages of practice material,so I'll crack on with that ..

 

[Fatbob22]

Hi there, I was just wondering where the train driver medicals are carried out, and what exactly they test for eyesight. In my job I had to have it done at an opticians and then take the form to the medical with me, is this the same??

 

[ComUtoR]

Each TOC/FOC tends to have a specific Occupational Health company they deal with.

You may have heard of a company called Medigold, they do occupational health assessments for a number of different companies. Not just TOCs

 

[clarets2005]

Most are done through Medigold.

They’ll test your reading ability at long and short distance, as well as numbers for colourblindness and other things.
They’ll do that with and without glasses (if you wear them) and through your right/left/both eye(s).

 

[atruetennisfan]

Hi there, I was just wondering where the train driver medicals are carried out, and what exactly they test for eyesight. In my job I had to have it done at an opticians and then take the form to the medical with me, is this the same??

Curious. When did you apply for the job with Chiltern? You seem to have gotten through the process pretty quickly. Which is great, but I’ve not heard a peep back from Marylebone depot yet and I’ve previously passed all my OPC assessments. Appreciate this isn’t the correct thread.

 

[Fatbob22]

Curious. When did you apply for the job with Chiltern? You seem to have gotten through the process pretty quickly. Which is great, but I’ve not heard a peep back from Marylebone depot yet and I’ve previously passed all my OPC assessments. Appreciate this isn’t the correct thread.

Hi, I applied at the end of January, I’m applying for Banbury, don’t know if they need more driver sooner maybe??

Most are done through Medigold.

They’ll test your reading ability at long and short distance, as well as numbers for colourblindness and other things.
They’ll do that with and without glasses (if you wear them) and through your right/left/both eye(s).

What other things are involved??

 

[clarets2005]

Hi, I applied at the end of January, I’m applying for Banbury, don’t know if they need more driver sooner maybe??


What other things are involved??

Off the top of my head...

Ask about medicines, conditions etc
Urine sample (tests for various things)
Breath test (for alcohol)
Blood pressure
Height, weight, BMI
ECG
Eyesight (distance, reading, colourblindness)
Hearing

99% of people have no problems

 

[Lucan]

I was just wondering where the train driver medicals are carried out

99% of people have no problems

I find the 99% figure very surprising. I also don't think that either of your forum names sound very promising

 

[clarets2005]

I find the 99% figure very surprising. I also don't think that either of your forum names sound very promising

Well, not literally 99%, but I would imagine most drivers having their first medical before becoming a trainee or having their 3-yearly/yearly medicals pass it.

What's wrong with my username?

 

[Douglaslynn]

What other things are involved??

Yeah the whole medigold medical for me was definitely overhyped.
They nearly forgot to do the colourblindness and reading test with me - had to remind the assessor it hadn’t been done when the box was just ticked to say I had passed it.

I have some advice for any hearing test because the headphones are probably rubbish. Was a music student until the end of last year so got my hearing tested annually by another occupational health company. No concerns.
Went to medigold and they’re saying my hearing is fine but poor for my age. If you even hear as much as a hiss through the headphones then press the clicker because the headphones I had on certainly weren’t able to reproduce the frequency levels that are being sent to them, so god forbid if the pair you’re using are older and even less suitable for purpose.

 

[atruetennisfan]

Hi, I applied at the end of January, I’m applying for Banbury, don’t know if they need more driver sooner maybe??


What other things are involved??

Thank you.

 

[Aspiring-drive]

Sat the assessment day today and on the assessment where you had to listen to beeps and circle the restaurants, I put lines through instead - do you think this will matter?

Also, how long does it take to hear the outcome of the paper assessments? Are we normally emailed or is it uploaded on our account first?

Thanks

 

[Adzlib]

Hi everyone,

I am awaiting my computer opc assessments. I passed the written one.

What's everyone's thoughts around which set of tests are harder?

Any advice for the computer tests?

Cheers

 

[SCDR_WMR]

Hi everyone,

I am awaiting my computer opc assessments. I passed the written one.

What's everyone's thoughts around which set of tests are harder?

Any advice for the computer tests?

Cheers

The paper tests are easier to practice and improve on, the computer tests aren't necessarily hard but seem to be where most who fail, fail.

There are hints and tips across the forum, but my advice would be to try and be relaxed for the concentration test with the square (your mind will play tricks if you stare intently), with the 2-hand test, use the practice screen going back and forth but not to the end so you can get used to the sensitivity (and the handles come off if you lift up, so dont do it!) And finally there's the perception test, don't just presume things are there, you don't have time to scan around the image but if you don't sit too close you may see more centrally rather than using peripheral vision.

Hope that makes sense, if not pm me.

 

[Allseeingeye]

Hi everyone, I was hoping someone can help me out, I have my initial assessment coming up for Night Shift CSA (AC1), I downloaded the practice material and did a couple of mocks but having reads lots of stuff online, some of the common mentions are that the actual test is nothing like the real one.

Does anyone have any clear information or some examples of the real questions they ask?

I have never been so nervous about a job before, due to personal/family reasons I am unable to work a full time shift, I have been trying for a while to get on board with TFL as I believe this is where my heart is and where my skills will be best suited. However, I want to make sure I have the best possible shot with the application process.

The punctuation test at the end of the mock up test they provided also did not have the answers.

This job is a dream job, with perfect working hours in a dream company. Any help or assistance would be greatly appreciated

I have heard the role plays can be tricky, things like if someone is drunk and doesn't have a valid ticket, what do you do? What is the policy?

Thank you

 

[stevetuk]

Sorry if this is in the wrong place...

I have passed through to what the OPC are calling Stage 2 of the Avanti Trainee Driver assessments (the computer-based tests), taking place in May in Crewe. I've got the practice materials etc and set for doing those.
In the meantime I was wondering, are they part of the National standard or are they part of the Enhanced standard? As I've passed Stage 1 (Group Bourdon, TEA-Occ, TRP 1 and 2) does that qualify me to apply for any other TOCs that operate the National standard? Just curious!