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Greater Anglia are recruiting Trainee Drivers

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shirleyd286

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I put Cambridge down, closest to me. Just spoke to GA HR, people who put Cambridge down on thier form will hear if they were shortlisted in the next 7 to 14 days, dunno if thats good or bad will always stay positive until someone tells me "No, Sorry":lol:
 
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MR_P

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I put Cambridge down too but not heard anything yet either.:|

Could be a good thing if we get a 'Come on down' a bit later on, more time to practice spotting those pesky dots!!!
 

Hammerdave

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I put Cambridge down, closest to me. Just spoke to GA HR, people who put Cambridge down on thier form will hear if they were shortlisted in the next 7 to 14 days, dunno if thats good or bad will always stay positive until someone tells me "No, Sorry":lol:

That's good news shirley I was resigned to that being it.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Who has received a pack who put Cambridge as their choice ?
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
I've changed my thoughts on this now shirley I think they mean short listed after people have been on assements. I hope iam wrong.
 

Botswana

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Had first part of the assessment day yesterday for Greater Anglia. 13 people in total attending and it seems that all 3 locations (including Cambridge) had been covered as first choice options by individuals. Wish you guys still waiting to hear back all the best. I live to fight another day which I'm glad about.
 

david_VI

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Hopefully the letter will come in time, or i'll use my bank letter from 2005!

Any news from the people who had their assessments yesterday or whenever it was?

Edit:

Had first part of the assessment day yesterday for Greater Anglia. 13 people in total attending and it seems that all 3 locations (including Cambridge) had been covered as first choice options by individuals. Wish you guys still waiting to hear back all the best. I live to fight another day which I'm glad about.

First part? Could you give a bit more info? So all the tests listed in the pack aren't on one day or is there other things?
The letter reads like there will be a medical, but from research usually thats later, could you confirm this?
And 13 people? Before the tests sifted people out? I thought it would be more like 20-30! No clue why.
 

Hammerdave

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It appears being a driving instructor and having worked in the transport industry counts for nothing.
 

GadgetMan

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It appears being a driving instructor and having worked in the transport industry counts for nothing.

That's a bit harsh. Trainee driver vacancies get thousands of applicants. Not every one will get shorlisted. Often luck plays a part too. For all you know every other applicant may have been pilot instructors trumping your driving instructing.

Some of us who already work in other roles on the railway often don't get shorlisted, so don't take it personally.

You just have to be patient and persistent and keep applying.
 

Beveridges

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It appears being a driving instructor and having worked in the transport industry counts for nothing
There are people who have rail driving jobs in another form (depot driving, tram driving, tube driving) who have been rejected for mainline jobs, so basically that means anyone can get rejected. Its a lot to do with luck, the unknown criteria app forms are shortlisted against (varies between TOCs), performance "on the day" in the Interview, getting the Interview questions that you hoped for, and references.
 

Pezza

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First part? Could you give a bit more info? So all the tests listed in the pack aren't on one day or is there other things?
The letter reads like there will be a medical, but from research usually thats later, could you confirm this?
And 13 people? Before the tests sifted people out? I thought it would be more like 20-30! No clue why.

'First part' just means that the structured interview is not on the first day as it states on the invite letter. We did all the tests on Wednesday and there were 9 of us left from the 13 for the final test in the afternoon. Those of us that passed the final test are now awaiting an invite letter to the 'structured interview'
 

baldieman

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For all you know every other applicant may have been pilot instructors trumping your driving instructing.

:lol: As a 'pilot instructor' for the past five years (and a qualified airline pilot) I have yet to hear anything either!

It is the luck of the draw and we just don't know what criteria they have with regards age, equal opportunities and other working backgrounds criteria. I don't take it personally at all, I just keep applying and keep researching the role.

Good luck!

Baldieman.
 

Mark7081

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13 people in total attending and it seems that all 3 locations (including Cambridge) had been covered as first choice options by individuals.

Seems they aren't doing it by depot then. Maybe it is down to when the application forms arrived, sort of first come first served?

I hope that isn't the case because I'm pretty sure mine would have been one of the last :oops:
 

shirleyd286

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Thats actually quite disapointing to hear Cambridge candidates are being assessed when I was told contrary to that on the phone. All the best to the other candidates though. I still won't give up hope, if it's anything like FCC the assessments go on and on for ages...
 

david_VI

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Interesting to hear the interviews are on different day. I suppose the day would be far too long and involve a lot more waiting if they were on same day.
 

robcal

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Still nothing back for me. Pretty much assume I've been rejected, but holding out a little bit of hope! Wonder when the rejection letters are coming out...
 

reapz

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Still nothing back for me. Pretty much assume I've been rejected, but holding out a little bit of hope! Wonder when the rejection letters are coming out...

What they have done is,

Put the people with the best applications (highest points) throught the assesments first .

Depending on how many pass they will then select the next teir of applications.


Numbers vary as driver numbers vary all the time
 

MR_P

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Hopefully those that meet the requirements the first time around but don't get to go the tests, (purely due to numbers) will get put on hold and be 'first choice' when more vacancies come up, like Other TOC's do.
 

david_VI

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How did people find the 'glop/sandite' test on the assessment day? Does this test differ between TOC's?
 

Beveridges

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How did people find the 'glop/sandite' test on the assessment day
Not easy but not rocket science either.

As I already worked on the railway, I asked a Conductor who sat that test a couple of weeks before me about it, and he told me nearly everything that was in the passage. I actually went into the test knowing half of the information in the passage before having to read it.

Does this test differ between TOC's?
No

None of the Tests require Genius level intelligence to pass. 40% of all applicants pass the whole assessment stage, from the Mechanical to the Structured Interview.
 
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david_VI

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Not easy but not rocket science either.

As I already worked on the railway, I asked a Conductor who sat that test a couple of weeks before me about it, and he told me nearly everything that was in the passage. I actually went into the test knowing half of the information in the passage before having to read it.


No

None of the Tests require Genius level intelligence to pass. 40% of all applicants pass the whole assessment stage, from the Mechanical to the Structured Interview.

40% pass the interview? As in get through to training? Seems a lot! Is it then filtered more by references/medicals?
 

GadgetMan

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40% pass the interview? As in get through to training? Seems a lot! Is it then filtered more by references/medicals?

Nah, that will be how many pass the Assessment stage to show they are capable of being trainee drivers from a technical point of view.

There will usually be another interview to decide whether you would be an ideal employee.
 

reapz

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Nah, that will be how many pass the Assessment stage to show they are capable of being trainee drivers from a technical point of view.

There will usually be another interview to decide whether you would be an ideal employee.

Where did the 40% come from ?
 

Beveridges

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40% pass the interview? As in get through to training? Seems a lot! Is it then filtered more by references/medicals?
It is filtered heavily BEFORE the Assessment stage by rejecting application forms. This gets rid of the vast majority of applications. Some TOCs will have a Corporate Interview or Corporate Tests before the Assessment Centre, which will get rid of more. After this there is the Assessment Centre (which is what we were talking about originally) with OPC which is the one that has a 40% pass rate. The OPC Assesment consists of Mechanical Comprehension, the two Trainability tests, Reactions, Concentration and the Structured Interview with an OPC assessor at the end. 40% will pass all 6 tests, the remaining 60% will fail on one or more of these 6 tests. However, normally only a small percentage will have even made it this far. After the Assessment Stage there is further selection stages; sometimes a final corporate Interview; sometimes further corporate tests (like SCAAT, Fault Finding, Maths, Verbal Comprehension, Rules exams, etc - I've seen these all being used!); sometimes personality questionaires; then even after all this the company will decide who to take on and who to put "on hold" (in other words they reject you even though you passed everything simply because there wasnt enough vacancies). After this the job offer is still subject to the medical, references, the contract being agreed, signed and returned on time, and that you don't have any problems with notice period from your current employer. Some TOCs like DRS have a yet another additional stage - Screening. Basically an in depth look into your history to see if there is anything they don't like, and if anything is different to what you said in the interview, medical and application form. Then between this and starting the job you could be removed if they find out any lies in the application or interviews. Also note that there can be long periods between various stages in the process after passing each stage where you can do nothing but wait and hope they dont put you "on hold".
All this before you even start training, which lasts 9-12 months for a mainline drivers role, or 3-6 months for a depot drivers role.

Really is a mountain to climb isn't it?
Yes
 
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david_VI

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Well i'd call that a mountain range!

I suppose the only thing to do is your best. I'm going to go for it, full steam ahead!
 

LCC106

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Good luck to david_VI and all who go for it. After a lot of planning and preparation I got through and I'm lucky to have a great career ahead of me. At the time the whole recruitment process can feel stressful but it's worth it if you want it badly enough.
 

ChrisTheRef

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I know it's very early stages yet, but is anyone aware of the free travel arrangements for GA?

I know there's discussions regarding Northern Rail and Merseyrail (all owned by Abellio) but nothing confirmed as yet.
 

jthorne82

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8 Mar 2012
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hi all, got my Assessment on thursday, just wanted to know if antone else used the how 2 become a train driver thing and found the answers on the group bourdon wrong or was it just me. done one about 5 times and awlays got 56 but correct answer was 53, cant be wrong everytime, just that its knocking my confidence, wanted to know if someone else found that.
 
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