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How competitive are trainee posts in Yorkshire?

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Stigy

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Were trainee driver jobs or any on the railway as competitive, before they were advertised on the internet?
That’s a good question. I don’t really remember a time before internet adverts...I do however remember having to apply using an actual application form. My first offer of employment by SWT in 2006 was via the post, too!
 
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RailUK Forums

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Were trainee driver jobs or any on the railway as competitive, before they were advertised on the internet?
I know a few who applied for Wessex Trains who put up an ad in the local paper
Salary was about 27k then in the noughties
Back then it was certainly popular. I remember reading stories of Teachers and Lawyers going Driving so it must have been around then that the good wages became common knowledge
 

DunfordBridge

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The best thing about Carlisle is that it's at the centre of a sparsely populated area. It's a fairly small city, and there are no other cities within an hour of it. Newcastle and Lancaster are closest, but not close enough. Logically, that means less competion for jobs.

Same goes for Scarborough really, just that there is not the same volume of rail traffic in Scarborough, might have been different in years gone by before they disposed of half the platforms in Scarborough station. DRS and Northern seem to be the key players in Carlisle.
 

DriverEight

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Same goes for Scarborough really, just that there is not the same volume of rail traffic in Scarborough, might have been different in years gone by before they disposed of half the platforms in Scarborough station. DRS and Northern seem to be the key players in Carlisle.
I think freightliner drivers sign on at Carlisle station too. Northern also have a depot in Workington and ScotRail in Dumfries is within easy reach
 

gerryuk

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Were trainee driver jobs or any on the railway as competitive, before they were advertised on the internet?
I would assume that a lot of vacancies would have been filled with friends and family members of existing staff in days gone by?
 

class 9

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Were trainee driver jobs or any on the railway as competitive, before they were advertised on the internet?
I don't think they used to get anywhere near as many as now.
Going back a bit further to the mid 90s when Drivers were on poor basic wages, many places struggled to fill vacancies, since the money increased significantly,every man and his dog want to be a Driver!!
 

Horizon22

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Do I stand any chance or not ?

How would we know? It is entirely dependent on your experience, skillset, personality, quality of application, pyschometric test performance etc. Best of luck anyway.
 

DorkingMain

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I managed it first application, and I consider myself to be ridiculously lucky. Lotto odds of achieving it.
Took me about 30 attempts to get a job on the railway, and then I got several offers at once and had to choose.

Ended up going with the guard role because it paid the most :D
 

TheVicLine

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There are 1000's of applicants when the trainee jobs are advertised.
There were 7000 when I applied for my job 9 years ago, I think that's about the normal amount that apply with my TOC.
 
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