Avanti Careers

[Minnie6868]

Recently applied for Trainee Train Driver. Once the application was completed it then took me into a 20 minute multiple choice test. The questions were very specific to having existing railway experience. After a few days I was notified that I was unsuccessful due to failing the test. Hey ho! So I applied for Ambassador (customer service). Same thing (difference questions) again. It's a pity that employers are still ignoring academic qualifications (I'm educated to post degree level) and ignoring the wealth of customer service experience I have (including Railway) or maybe they are glancing at the Equality form which is completed at application stage, which shows that I'm over 50. I really do believe that securing a good position within the Railway is about who you know and not what you know. It would be nice to see Avanti turn this on its head, now that they've got the Francise. I worked at a Station where the Station Manager (not Avanti) must have had a recruitment agency in her local pub because I was surrounded by her Mom's best friends. We were about 40 miles away from her village. So it's still 'jobs for the boys/girls'!

 

[jameshammond]

From my own experience, I have to disagree with what you have said. I joined as a trainee driver with no previous railway experience, no university degree and didn't know anyone in the industry. Also on my trainee drivers course were a number of people who were over 50.

Further to this, my current toc (and I'm aware of others) operates a blind recruitment policy so the initial papersift is purely done on what you have written. Age / race etc does not come into it

 

[Stigy]

Recently applied for Trainee Train Driver. Once the application was completed it then took me into a 20 minute multiple choice test. The questions were very specific to having existing railway experience. After a few days I was notified that I was unsuccessful due to failing the test. Hey ho! So I applied for Ambassador (customer service). Same thing (difference questions) again. It's a pity that employers are still ignoring academic qualifications (I'm educated to post degree level) and ignoring the wealth of customer service experience I have (including Railway) or maybe they are glancing at the Equality form which is completed at application stage, which shows that I'm over 50. I really do believe that securing a good position within the Railway is about who you know and not what you know. It would be nice to see Avanti turn this on its head, now that they've got the Francise. I worked at a Station where the Station Manager (not Avanti) must have had a recruitment agency in her local pub because I was surrounded by her Mom's best friends. We were about 40 miles away from her village. So it's still 'jobs for the boys/girls'!

I agree with parts of what you say, but can say with almost 100% certainty that they won’t have access to the information you supplied in the equality questionnaire at recruitment level (to prevent discrimination). In more recent years, in recruitment I’ve been involved in at least, I was never able to see the date of birth (or any other info supplied regarding equality) of an applicant when I received their application pack. If in doubt, in future don’t put your age range in. I agree that nepotism and a degree of “it’s not what you know....” exists in railway recruitment for certain jobs, but usually for more specific management type posts.

In your case, you didn’t meet the requirements to pass an initial assessment (and one that’s carried out before any recruiting manager sees your CV or application form). I’ve done countless assessments of this nature and agree it can be disheartening to fail them, but the reality is that these tests are marked and graded by computers and there’s probably no human element involved at this stage. These assessments are usually graded on an A to D scale and are based on the average score, therefore if there were exceptional participants and you scored even a B, you’d not pass (as an example). If Avanti is using the FirstGroup portal ‘yet’, then again, this is something I can say with a degree of certainty. You just have to chip away and carry on applying.

Finally, degree level education is taken in to account along with anything else, but not at this level. Since the test you describe sounds like it came immediately after completing the application form, it’s before any sort of sift, therefore is based solely on aptitude.

Good Luck!

 

[Aivilo]

If you don't cut the mustard you don't cut the mustard. Look at your application and assume you'll be gifted a role based on your education and experience

 

[Red1980]

Recently applied for Trainee Train Driver. Once the application was completed it then took me into a 20 minute multiple choice test. The questions were very specific to having existing railway experience. After a few days I was notified that I was unsuccessful due to failing the test. Hey ho! So I applied for Ambassador (customer service). Same thing (difference questions) again. It's a pity that employers are still ignoring academic qualifications (I'm educated to post degree level) and ignoring the wealth of customer service experience I have (including Railway) or maybe they are glancing at the Equality form which is completed at application stage, which shows that I'm over 50. I really do believe that securing a good position within the Railway is about who you know and not what you know. It would be nice to see Avanti turn this on its head, now that they've got the Francise. I worked at a Station where the Station Manager (not Avanti) must have had a recruitment agency in her local pub because I was surrounded by her Mom's best friends. We were about 40 miles away from her village. So it's still 'jobs for the boys/girls'!

Nonsense. For a start a degree means absolutely nothing and I know for a fact the questions within the multiple choice questions weren't specific to railway as I've seen them and went through them with a candidate. They can be related to most day to day businesses away from the railway.

There's never been a time where the railway has been as far away from "jobs for the boys/girls" . It doesn't matter who you know these days you still have to pass the paper sifts and tests like the one you failed before you're even at a stage where you can brag to an interviewing manager that you're his favourite employees best mate for example.

Not that they do,but why shouldn't employers ignore academic achievements such as degrees? Having a degree Doesn't mean you'd make a good employee for them and doesn't make you better than someone with 1 GCSE to their name.

Just so you know....one of the trainees on my driving course celebrated his 50th whilst on the course and similar to myself had no railway background family or friends wise whatsoever.

Maybe it's a case of having a peep in the mirror and seeing where YOU may be falling short.

 

[Trainguy90]

Railway jobs are well sought, lots of people apply (especially driver roles) unfortunately not everyone can be employed. I started on station as a travel advisor with minimal GCSE’s and applied for a couple of internal jobs and 4 external trainee driver roles while I was there before I finally got an interview and secured a driving job. Since then I have moved TOC and even that took 4 different interviews with a couple of different TOC’s at a time where a lot of companies are crying out for qualified drivers.
It’s just a game of luck and persistence I’m afraid

 

[Kyle807]

Where did you find this job advert or has it been taken down now?

 

[irish_rail]

Where did you find this job advert or has it been taken down now?

Must of been advertised internally only which seems to be how west coast likes to recruit it's drivers these days. (Excpet Euston and wolves where they still advertise for qualifieds now and then)

 

[Juliet Barvo]

Recently applied for Trainee Train Driver. Once the application was completed it then took me into a 20 minute multiple choice test. The questions were very specific to having existing railway experience. After a few days I was notified that I was unsuccessful due to failing the test. Hey ho! So I applied for Ambassador (customer service). Same thing (difference questions) again. It's a pity that employers are still ignoring academic qualifications (I'm educated to post degree level) and ignoring the wealth of customer service experience I have (including Railway) or maybe they are glancing at the Equality form which is completed at application stage, which shows that I'm over 50. I really do believe that securing a good position within the Railway is about who you know and not what you know. It would be nice to see Avanti turn this on its head, now that they've got the Francise. I worked at a Station where the Station Manager (not Avanti) must have had a recruitment agency in her local pub because I was surrounded by her Mom's best friends. We were about 40 miles away from her village. So it's still 'jobs for the boys/girls'!

"I really do believe that securing a good position within the Railway is about who you know and not what you know" sadly, what you believe is B0ll0cks, complete and utter B0ll0cks.

"It's a pity that employers are still ignoring academic qualifications" Maybe they don't want people with a sense of entitlement?

(I'm educated to post degree level) So am I, but I've never mentioned it to anyone in the Industry: I prefer to be judged on how well I do each and every day.

Approximately 400 people apply for every Trainee Train Driver Position, try again but research the role and what they are looking for before you apply again.

 

[Stigy]

"I really do believe that securing a good position within the Railway is about who you know and not what you know" sadly, what you believe is B0ll0cks, complete and utter B0ll0cks.

"It's a pity that employers are still ignoring academic qualifications" Maybe they don't want people with a sense of entitlement?

(I'm educated to post degree level) So am I, but I've never mentioned it to anyone in the Industry: I prefer to be judged on how well I do each and every day.

Approximately 400 people apply for every Trainee Train Driver Position, try again but research the role and what they are looking for before you apply again.

Whilst I agree with what you and @Red1980 are saying, I think we need to bear in mind that it’s not even got to the stage whereby a person’s credentials come in to it. The number of candidates is therefore likely irrelevant as everybody will probably be asked to sit the initial assessment and then be sifted out, making the next stage less of a paper sift for recruitment/managers. I don’t believe that jobs such as driver or guard are a case of who you know, not what you know, but certainly more specialist or managerial roles can often be recruited this way. I’ve seen this first hand.

I think the initial post came across as a case of “I have a degree, I should have passed this assessment”. Not the case. You can’t teach aptitude and common sense at any university. I’ve seen some god awful managers with little to know life experience being promoted through graduate schemes and it’s shocking to see how some (not all) perform.

 

[OneLowban]

On our induction week as drivers we were told a few thousand applied for the role. You just have to keep at it.

 

[Red1980]

Whilst I agree with what you and @Red1980 are saying, I think we need to bear in mind that it’s not even got to the stage whereby a person’s credentials come in to it. The number of candidates is therefore likely irrelevant as everybody will probably be asked to sit the initial assessment and then be sifted out, making the next stage less of a paper sift for recruitment/managers. I don’t believe that jobs such as driver or guard are a case of who you know, not what you know, but certainly more specialist or managerial roles can often be recruited this way. I’ve seen this first hand.

I think the initial post came across as a case of “I have a degree, I should have passed this assessment”. Not the case. You can’t teach aptitude and common sense at any university. I’ve seen some god awful managers with little to know life experience being promoted through graduate schemes and it’s shocking to see how some (not all) perform.

I kind of see what you're saying mate but when you read through the initial post it does come across as kind of bitter and that there's demons at play somewhere that's why you've not got the job.

The easy thing to do really is to say that it's jobs for the boys etc but there plenty of examples out there of people that'd love to get family members or friends on the railway and struggle big time.

Now I'm not gonna sit here and lie and say it never was jobs for the boys/family as it was like that heavily at one point. But there's actually a reason for that, there was a time when the railway struggled to get staff as the wages weren't like they are now .....family members of existing staff a lot of the time were the only options. Given the wages and security now on offer it's almost come full circle.

In regards to management roles. Well above a certain grade that's the same the world over in most industries. The application process can be very different in a way that application forms aren't even necessary, it's more about someone knowing someone and them having a good reputation within a certain field.... almost like headhunting.....I wouldn't say that's jobs for the boys per say it's just a different form of recruitment.

Bottom line is you're up against daft numbers and the only way through it is to persevere and jump through the hoops we all had to, I promise you there is no conspiracy. You'll get there..... remember each time you fall short you're not actually failing , you're learning.

Best of luck.