Dynamonic
Member
Generally, TOCs will only consider applicants who permanently reside in the UK, and those who don't are often screened out in a pre-application questionnaire. This is because TOCs will make a large time and financial investment to train you up as a new driver, and they will want quite a few years of service out of you in return. As there is always a large pool of applicants to choose from, TOCs will always opt for the candidates who aren't at risk of having their rights to live and work in the UK taken away from them within a few years.
In terms of speaking natively, you are required to have great English communication skills in both speaking and in writing.
Your written communication skills are tested for in the application stage of the process, and any grammatical or spelling errors will often end up with your application being turned down.
Written communication is also sometimes tested for in the Written Communication Test (WCT), which forms part of the assessment process for some TOCs.
Your spoken language skills are tested for in your interviews, of which you can expect at least two of them; The Multi-Modal Interview (MMI) and Driver Manager Interview (DMI). You will often be invited to a a group assessment day too, which will test how you communicate with other people.
It's not 'discriminatory', Train Driving is a safety-critical role, with the lives of potentially many people depending on you having superb communication skills. It's a core competency!
If you're a permanent UK resident, and have a great grasp of English, then go for it! You have just as much chance as everybody else!
In terms of tests, every TOC will use at least the following:
Stage 1 OPC Assessment
Stage 1 consists of the following paper-based tests:
Stage 2 OPC Assessment
If successful at Stage 1, you'll eventually do Stage 2, which consists of the following computer-based tests:
You will be informed of the results of your computer tests as soon as you have completed them. If successful, you will then immediately sit the following:
Driver Manager Interview
This interview will be different from TOC to TOC, but expect more competency based questions and your knowledge of your chosen TOC to be tested.
Some TOCs will also ask you to complete additional stages as part of the recruitment process, such as online tests, telephone interviews and group assessment days. You will normally get details of these when you apply.
Hope this helps, Jose Manuel, and others that read this too!
Good luck!
In terms of speaking natively, you are required to have great English communication skills in both speaking and in writing.
Your written communication skills are tested for in the application stage of the process, and any grammatical or spelling errors will often end up with your application being turned down.
Written communication is also sometimes tested for in the Written Communication Test (WCT), which forms part of the assessment process for some TOCs.
Your spoken language skills are tested for in your interviews, of which you can expect at least two of them; The Multi-Modal Interview (MMI) and Driver Manager Interview (DMI). You will often be invited to a a group assessment day too, which will test how you communicate with other people.
It's not 'discriminatory', Train Driving is a safety-critical role, with the lives of potentially many people depending on you having superb communication skills. It's a core competency!
If you're a permanent UK resident, and have a great grasp of English, then go for it! You have just as much chance as everybody else!
In terms of tests, every TOC will use at least the following:
Stage 1 OPC Assessment
Stage 1 consists of the following paper-based tests:
- Group Bourdon (Involves highlighting patterns of a set number of dots as quickly and accurately as possible)
- Trainability for Rules & Procedures Parts 1 & 2 (TRP) (Part 1 involves memorising a fictional procedure and answering multiple-choice questions on it. Part 2 involves prioritising dials for inspection)
- Test of Everyday Attention for Occupational Assessment Parts 1,2 & 3 (TEA-Occ) (Part 1 involves finding listings that match a criteria. Part 2 involves counting certain audible tones. Part 3 is a combination of Parts 1 & 2)
Stage 2 OPC Assessment
If successful at Stage 1, you'll eventually do Stage 2, which consists of the following computer-based tests:
- WAFV Vigilance Test (A test of concentration which involves responding rapidly to a change of appearance of an on-screen object)
- ATAVT Perception Test (A memory and reaction test to see how much information you retain from a short glance at photos)
- 2Hand Co-ordination Test (A test of your ability to use two hands together to steer an object through a track with mininal error)
You will be informed of the results of your computer tests as soon as you have completed them. If successful, you will then immediately sit the following:
- Situational Judgement Exercise (SJE) (A test which asks you to grade how effective certain responses would be to a situation. Your answers to this test will influence questions you'll be asked in the Multi-Modal Interview)
- Multi-Modal Interview (MMI) (A competency based interview in which you'll be asked six set questions about experiences you have had in dealing with different situations, based on the competency profile of a Train Driver. You will be further questioned about your experiences, with your answers to the previous SJE influencing these)
- (Optional Test) Written Communication Test (WCT) (A test which involves you writing a written report to a person, based on a cartoon strip you are given. This test is only run by certain TOCs, but would form part of this assessment if it is required)
Driver Manager Interview
This interview will be different from TOC to TOC, but expect more competency based questions and your knowledge of your chosen TOC to be tested.
Some TOCs will also ask you to complete additional stages as part of the recruitment process, such as online tests, telephone interviews and group assessment days. You will normally get details of these when you apply.
Hope this helps, Jose Manuel, and others that read this too!
Good luck!
