First Great Western - Trainee Drivers

[anthony263]

Correct but not for at least a few years will the Turbos head West.

Bristol West drivers will (I think) sign to Cardiff, Westbury, Severn Beach, Taunton and some to Weymouth. This is not exhaustive as I know more about HSS.

I know that it will be from 2016 onwards before we see any of the 165/166's head this way to Bristol which is why I said in the future in my previous post.

I am also guessing Bristol drivers sign to Gloucester & Great Malvern as well?

 

[455driver]

Sorry to bang in here but i'm planning to apply for a trainee job but at 48 i'm wondering whether i'm way too old to get a look in. Can anybody out there give me an honest assessment of my chances?

I was 42 when I started my driver training and out of the 12 on my course 6 were older than me.
3 were in their 50, 2 external and one internal.

 

[Red18]

I think older candidates potentially have more to offer than younger ones.
Maybe fewer family commitments, maybe more financially secure, maybe a little calmer in their outlook and just maybe a little more life experience.
A bit of a generalisation I know, but you can see why age should not be a factor (within reason)

 

[carlejo]

At my very recent assessments, majority of candidates were in their 40s

There were 12 of us. One girl 25 and a bloke about 35.

 

[Twoonthebuzzer]

I am also guessing Bristol drivers sign to Gloucester & Great Malvern as well.

Bristol West Drivers only sign as far as Cheltenham.

 

[TPA]

Thanks SkinnyDave, Mutley, Red18, 455driver and Carlejo, you know how to make an old man happy!! I am an external from an aviation background so i'm a bit concerned that i will be too far from the mainstream to get a decent look in but you all sound very encouraging, many thanks!

Anyway, the application is in now(looking for Bristol) and like everyone else i will be jumping on the email at every ding. Has anyone heard yet?

 

[SkinnyDave]

Hi TPA,
Going by the last intake it will take a while I think but you never know.
I have went for Bristol too

 

[daddy_badger]

In for a long wait I appplied july 2012 and only just done the assessments, however I understand the reasons.

 

[carriageline]

Did I imagine it, or did I see that paddington was one of the depots you could apply for?

 

[SkinnyDave]

Funny you say that it was on original advert but not now, I thought I was seeing things.
It still mentions Paddington in first paragraph but not headline where it was..

 

[tlionhart]

Yes it was on the list, but seemed like its been removed. I've applied, round 2 of the application for me.

 

[svrdan]

i Guess they all want to to to Paddington lol

 

[SkinnyDave]

i Guess they all want to to to Paddington lol

Few on here going for Bristol including me, not saw many mention Reading or Oxford

 

[svrdan]

Bristols more exciting Dave lol

 

[SkinnyDave]

Bristols more exciting Dave lol

That will be you ruled out of Oxford and Reading lol

 

[tlionhart]

Reading for me

 

[Mutley]

Thanks SkinnyDave, Mutley, Red18, 455driver and Carlejo, you know how to make an old man happy!! I am an external from an aviation background so i'm a bit concerned that i will be too far from the mainstream to get a decent look in but you all sound very encouraging, many thanks!

Anyway, the application is in now(looking for Bristol) and like everyone else i will be jumping on the email at every ding. Has anyone heard yet?

I am also an external from an aviation background and i never thought i would get as far as i did. So think positive and be prepared for the long wait, it will be worth it

 

[Red18]

Good look with your applications everyone.
I have applied for Bristol too.
I must say I did like the FGW application form. I don't know about you but I spent a lot of time preparing my answers before submitting.
I also noticed that each section has a spell check and unique word checker now. I thought that was useful (though to be honest you should be doing this anyway).
That said, I did find that some words, that were obviously correct, flagged up as errors; mostly abrreviated words such as don't, won't etc. Even some words in quotations " " were flagged as errors which I thought was odd. Obviously I changed the phrasing of my answers to remove these 'doubtful' words so the spelling errors read '0'.
I think it was useful to read through the final sumbmission and remove any over repeated words too. I'm sure the first sift will be automated based on spelling and poor grammar etc. so once you get passed that you are in with a chance.
Sounds a bit weird I know, but I quite enjoyed filling in the form.
I guess the clock starts ticking from tomorrow.

 

[TPA]

Nice one Red 18, prior preparation prevents and all that. i kind of stumbled onto the second page and then had to stop half way through to take a work call. When I eventually got off the phone I had something ringing in my head about 2 hours to complete it so I banged it out as quick as possible ...... Doh! Did have time for a spell check but now I wonder if I put enough detail in. On reflection, i'm also now not so sure that the bit about me having to concentrate through hours of German porn films was entirely relevant. Oh well.

 

[thomo]

Is it worth applying if your based in west midlands? or is that too adventurous?

 

[TPA]

I thought you had to live within 1 hours travelling time not using public transport?

 

[Red18]

Is it worth applying if your based in west midlands? or is that too adventurous?

Well I live in Cheshire and I've applied so why not?
I don't think TOC's expect all the applicants to already live within a 45 min radius of the station. However they will expect successful candidates to live or be prepared to relocate to live in the area.
So as long as you declare you are prepared to relocate you should be ok.
In fact the FGW application form asks that very question.
Go for it. What's the worst that can happen?

 

[TPA]

Good point. On a different note I've seen a job advertised for a completely random small station nearby, I had thought that you would have to be based from a larger station regardless of whether you we're qualified or not?

 

[daddy_badger]

You have to be in it to win it. Nothing wrong about relkocating I know of someone who is relocating and lives more than 1hr away.

 

[tone]

"Please be aware that due to the large number of applications we may receive this advertisement may be withdrawn before the advertised date of 03 May 2013."

Well that's today! Didn't they get a high number of applicants?

 

[TDK]

Well I live in Cheshire and I've applied so why not?
I don't think TOC's expect all the applicants to already live within a 45 min radius of the station. However they will expect successful candidates to live or be prepared to relocate to live in the area.
So as long as you declare you are prepared to relocate you should be ok.
In fact the FGW application form asks that very question.
Go for it. What's the worst that can happen?

I have mentioned this before Red, if there is a candidate equal to you they will get the job if they are within 45 minutes of the depot. This 45mins - 1 hour cut off is an important factor. It is essential if anyone is going for a job and they want the candidate to be within 1 hour of the depot to put across that they will DEFINATELY relocate and also take evidence that this is what you intend to do! If not you won't get the job.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

I thought you had to live within 1 hours travelling time not using public transport?

This depends on the rostering - if all the jobs in the link can be attended on time using public transport then public transport is OK - One question that I used to ask when interviewing a candidate was "If your booking on time was 03.30 how would you get to work and how long would it take you" I have posted this before but will again, there is a list below on what forms of transport are best and they are graded in interview!

1. Walking
2. Cycling
3. Motor bike/scooter
4. Car
5. Public transport
6. Lift from a friend or a taxi

These are based on risk and from statistics of late on duty. Walking is definately the lowest risk followed by cycling so these are by far the preferred options however bike and car are accepted as these methods are in the majority.

 

[Quickthorn]

... and also take evidence that this is what you intend to do! If not you won't get the job.

What sort of evidence would be acceptable, TDK? If I got to interview, I was thinking of taking my tenancy agreement, to show that I rent and can give 1 month's notice, plus a few printouts from rightmove.co.uk showing the sort of places I'd be looking to rent if i did get a position.

For info, I've applied to Bristol and i live in Notts.

 

[svrdan]

I have mentioned this before Red, if there is a candidate equal to you they will get the job if they are within 45 minutes of the depot. This 45mins - 1 hour cut off is an important factor. It is essential if anyone is going for a job and they want the candidate to be within 1 hour of the depot to put across that they will DEFINATELY relocate and also take evidence that this is what you intend to do! If not you won't get the job.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---


This depends on the rostering - if all the jobs in the link can be attended on time using public transport then public transport is OK - One question that I used to ask when interviewing a candidate was "If your booking on time was 03.30 how would you get to work and how long would it take you" I have posted this before but will again, there is a list below on what forms of transport are best and they are graded in interview!

1. Walking
2. Cycling
3. Motor bike/scooter
4. Car
5. Public transport
6. Lift from a friend or a taxi

These are based on risk and from statistics of late on duty. Walking is definately the lowest risk followed by cycling so these are by far the preferred options however bike and car are accepted as these methods are in the majority.

Im finding this interesting since i don't currently drive and tend to walk everywhere i go, so to find walking the lowest risk is an interesting find.

 

[anthony263]

What sort of evidence would be acceptable, TDK? If I got to interview, I was thinking of taking my tenancy agreement, to show that I rent and can give 1 month's notice, plus a few printouts from rightmove.co.uk showing the sort of places I'd be looking to rent if i did get a position.

For info, I've applied to Bristol and i live in Notts.

That is the sort of stuff I was thinking of taking with me aong with perhaps proof that I have looked at costs such as rent.

I did find a few flats in Bristol so assuming that trainie drivers earn about £21,000 per year I have been working out a proposed budget taking into account the costs of renting and the cost of traveling to and from work.

This will depend if I take my fiat punto if I move out of my parents house or if I manage to find place which is close enough to Bristol Temple Meads that I can walk to work easily in under 30 minutes.

Of course I will need to get my fiat repaired since one of the spark plugs caught fire while my brother was leaving the local garage where he works.

I have also spoken to my local jobcentre who have said there are a few schemes which can help me with the cost of relocating
(The benefits of living in Wales which may be of interest for anyone from wales looking at relocating closer to work)

 

[sw1ller]

Good look with your applications everyone.
I have applied for Bristol too.
I must say I did like the FGW application form. I don't know about you but I spent a lot of time preparing my answers before submitting.
I also noticed that each section has a spell check and unique word checker now. I thought that was useful (though to be honest you should be doing this anyway).
That said, I did find that some words, that were obviously correct, flagged up as errors; mostly abrreviated words such as don't, won't etc. Even some words in quotations " " were flagged as errors which I thought was odd. Obviously I changed the phrasing of my answers to remove these 'doubtful' words so the spelling errors read '0'.
I think it was useful to read through the final sumbmission and remove any over repeated words too. I'm sure the first sift will be automated based on spelling and poor grammar etc. so once you get passed that you are in with a chance.
Sounds a bit weird I know, but I quite enjoyed filling in the form.
I guess the clock starts ticking from tomorrow.

I've applied for the Oxford depot. Just thought I'd mention as no-one has really mentioned Oxford yet. I have seen that its not the most exciting post but I wouldn't care. As for the above post, I logged onto the application then copied all the questions to word, I then spent a fair few days thinking up the best possible answers I could and putting them into the most articulate way I could, which, to be honest, isn't great but I did my best. The 120 min rule is nonsense, if you log out after 20 mins then log back in again 4 days later it lets you complete the 2nd page with 120 mins again. all I then did was click the relevant boxes and cut & paste from word, the actual application took all of 6 mins, fully word checked with my own word spell check, had plenty of time to proof read it. Now lest see if living in Chester is a hindrance. It says I can relocate so I would HOPE that my location has no bearing on my employability. Good luck everyone. All the best