GWR Gloucester Talent Pool

[DogDays]

Hi all, I'm in the talent pool for Gloucester depot as a trainee driver.
As I'm sure we all know, trying to get any information regarding time scales or depot requirements from any TOC is virtually impossible, so I thought I'd start a thread to see if we can collectively get a rough idea about how many are in the pool and whether they're internal/external.
I'll go first:
I'm external and I've been treading water for almost a year.
Thanks everybody and good luck

 

[dan2610]

I've been in the talent pool for a different location since the end of January, and as far as I'm aware there are still further interviews to be completed so my talent pool is not yet finished.

Have you tried emailing resourcing to ask if they can give you any information about the talent pool, and your position within it? That was going to be my plan, but obviously expecting a much longer wait yet.

 

[DogDays]

I've been in the talent pool for a different location since the end of January, and as far as I'm aware there are still further interviews to be completed so my talent pool is not yet finished.

Have you tried emailing resourcing to ask if they can give you any information about the talent pool, and your position within it? That was going to be my plan, but obviously expecting a much longer wait yet.

I've emailed several times over the past year but always get the same standard response - I can't imagine I'll ever get any concrete information from them unless it's a job offer. That just seems to be the way of things which is fine, I'm not in a desperate rush but I wanted to get an idea of how many were waiting

 

[PaulBusDriver]

I've emailed several times over the past year but always get the same standard response - I can't imagine I'll ever get any concrete information from them unless it's a job offer. That just seems to be the way of things which is fine, I'm not in a desperate rush but I wanted to get an idea of how many were waiting

I'm also in the Talent pool for Gloucester and know of two other blokes also in it. I was in from Sept 2019 and I applied as a First Bus employee which is practically external with the exception of not having to submit a application outside of the employee portal.

 

[DogDays]

I'm also in the Talent pool for Gloucester and know of two other blokes also in it. I was in from Sept 2019 and I applied as a First Bus employee which is practically external with the exception of not having to submit a application outside of the employee portal.

Right, so there's at least 4 of us in the pool. Do you know if the others are internal/external?

 

[PaulBusDriver]

The two I know of are external if my memory serves me correctly but it seems likely to me that there could be more internal candidates.

Right, so there's at least 4 of us in the pool. Do you know if the others are internal/external?

 

[DogDays]

The two I know of are external if my memory serves me correctly but it seems likely to me that there could be more internal candidates.

That's probably a fair assumption. I guess it comes down to requirements of Gloucester depot and I doubt we'll get any info on that front

 

[PaulBusDriver]

That's probably a fair assumption. I guess it comes down to requirements of Gloucester depot and I doubt we'll get any info on that front

I initially thought Gloucester was quite a small depot but other forum members have said it isn't so small so there is hope there that a throughput of driving staff happens quite often. I hope it's soon that they require us, I've noticed that there haven't been any vacancies advertised for a while apart from for qualified drivers so maybe the pool is complete!?
The fact were external and waiting could suggest the internals are in the process currently maybe?

 

[DogDays]

I initially thought Gloucester was quite a small depot but other forum members have said it isn't so small so there is hope there that a throughput of driving staff happens quite often. I hope it's soon that they require us, I've noticed that there haven't been any vacancies advertised for a while apart from for qualified drivers so maybe the pool is complete!?
The fact were external and waiting could suggest the internals are in the process currently maybe?

I know there was 2 on a course that started in July and I'd only just gone into the pool, so they must have been internal.
It's got to be good news that they're still advertising for qualified drivers, right?

 

[PaulBusDriver]

I think they always tend to be looking for qualified drivers, as it's the easiest way of recruiting I'd imagine.

 

[BoTheRigger]

Hello. I'm also an external in the talent pool for Gloucester. Ive been in it since August/September last year. Not heard a peep yet. Really hoping we do soon as my current industry has shut down and I'm in desperate need of some work! Hope you're all doing ok.

 

[PaulBusDriver]

Hi Bo, we could be in for an extended wait with the current state of affairs putting things on hold. Another 6 months to a year perhaps, hopefully not too long.

I'm still applying for other things as and when they come up, I have a friend who started with SWR and his training has continued remotely, with on line training and learning. I contacted GWR and they advised me that I can apply for other opportunities without it affecting my talent pool place.

 

[BoTheRigger]

Hi Paul, that's good to know. I've been applying for all sorts of stuff for the meantime and hopefully my freelance work will pick up again to keep us going until the phone call from GWR. I had thought they might continue class based training remotely but I guess it depends on the company. We'll just have to sit tight for a bit longer I suppose! How's your friend finding training with SWR?