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New conductor positions ATW next year.

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Spikeylado

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If anybody is looking for a conductor position next year, ATW will be running x2 courses with the first one due to start in March to fill immediate vacancies. They will also be filling a talent pool. Keep an eye on the website they should be advertising in Jan.
By the way im passing this info on as i was talking to a ATW conductor trainer so it should be legit!
Good luck if your trying for position.
 
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Spikeylado

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Hi,
Yes although these are for the South, there will be positions in the North also.
 

craigybagel

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Now on the website - places available in the 2018 talent pool for Crewe, Shrewsbury and Holyhead.
 

LS.CYMRU

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Hi Spikeylado,

Is it true that ATW ae pulling out of wales from next year?
And if so what would happen to whoever gets one of these roles?

Kind regards

Lscymru
 

Undiscovered

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You'll get TUPE'd, like the LM employees who've gone to West Mids. Essentially, you'll wear a different uniform, everything else stays the same.

Anyhoos, my application is in. 6th time lucky. Ha!
 

LS.CYMRU

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You'll get TUPE'd, like the LM employees who've gone to West Mids. Essentially, you'll wear a different uniform, everything else stays the same.

Anyhoos, my application is in. 6th time lucky. Ha!

Right so won’t be an issue then

I only ask as I currently work for NWR but I’ve applied for conductor in Cardiff. So want to be safe.

Good luck with your application mate
 

craigybagel

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We'll also lose arguably the best staff travel package in the industry :'( but other then that, don't let the franchise affect your thinking - we may not know what uniform we'll be wearing, but the Welsh Assembly have promised that all trains will have a safety critical guard at all times so as long as that promise is kept, it's one of the safer TOCs to join as a guard - hence the big recruitment drive! It's also an exciting time to join, with the Halton curve opening soon and hopefully as part of the new franchise some new stock and potentially extended services, it's really a good place to be applying for. I already know of one qualified conductor from another TOC applying and I suspect he won't be the only one.
 

LS.CYMRU

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Shame about the travel package, will you definitely be losing it or is it a up in the air?..

I currently work in signalling and telecoms at st.pancras so quite a bit different to conductor
I’m from wales so trying to get back and this seems like a great opportunity to do so. I imagine there’ll be a lot of applicants though.
 

craigybagel

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Shame about the travel package, will you definitely be losing it or is it a up in the air?..

I currently work in signalling and telecoms at st.pancras so quite a bit different to conductor
I’m from wales so trying to get back and this seems like a great opportunity to do so. I imagine there’ll be a lot of applicants though.

Nothing is definite but you normally lose free travel on other TOCs (and in our case, Buses) owned by the family when a franchise changes hands - in return for free travel on other companies owned by the new operator - and none of the 3 groups left in the running give as good a package as the Arriva Group do. First world problems though really - it's still a decent job with decent pay and decent perks.

There will indeed be lots of applicants, you can count on that - and the Cardiff vacancy has now closed. Hopefully for you though your background will help you to stand out.
 

LS.CYMRU

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Nothing is definite but you normally lose free travel on other TOCs (and in our case, Buses) owned by the family when a franchise changes hands - in return for free travel on other companies owned by the new operator - and none of the 3 groups left in the running give as good a package as the Arriva Group do. First world problems though really - it's still a decent job with decent pay and decent perks.

There will indeed be lots of applicants, you can count on that - and the Cardiff vacancy has now closed. Hopefully for you though your background will help you to stand out.

Shame, but as you say still decent pay and perks.
Most of the travel perks from nwr are long gone so it can’t be any worse.

I got my application in for Cardiff just in time,
Not expecting too much but I’ll try my best.

I’ll let you know how it goes

Take care mate
 

Spikeylado

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I agree with all that has been said. As for the travel we still have a priv card which gives you 75% off anyway so I'm not to concerned! Good luck hope you get through!
 

TributeAct

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Can anyone advise roughly what rota a newly qualified guard at Shrewsbury might work to - know its early mornings and late nights - but ad say 35 hours over 4 days (suggests slightly longer hours per day than working in office job over 5 days) how does that pan out roughly as i very strongly expect it won’t be the same 3 days off every week?
 

craigybagel

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Can anyone advise roughly what rota a newly qualified guard at Shrewsbury might work to - know its early mornings and late nights - but ad say 35 hours over 4 days (suggests slightly longer hours per day than working in office job over 5 days) how does that pan out roughly as i very strongly expect it won’t be the same 3 days off every week?

It's a 39 week rolling roster at Shrewsbury, that follows the same pattern all the way through.
Week one rest day Monday and Tuesday
Week two rest day Wednesday and Thursday
Week three rest day Friday and Saturday

This means that every 3 weeks you get a 5 day weekend.
You're also rostered 1 Sunday in 3 (which is never the Sunday on the 5 day weekend) - if you don't want to work it and you can find someone else who does then they work it and they get paid overtime for it, if you choose to work it or you can't find anyone else and you have no choice but to work it then you get the overtime.

These shift patterns apply at the other depots being recruited for as well - albeit the length of time it takes the roster to roll over varies with the size of each depot.
 

tiptoptaff

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These shift patterns apply at the other depots being recruited for as well - albeit the length of time it takes the roster to roll over varies with the size of each depot.

From memory the Cardiff Valleys link was about 120 lines
 

TributeAct

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Craigybagel thanks for the info - good to know these details before deciding to apply or not.
 

Undiscovered

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Surprised to see these are still open.
Is there a figure at which they'll automatically close, or will they remain open now until after Christmas?
 

TeaTrain

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They normally close way before the actual date stated for closure. It is generally the case that when there is enough applicants they take the post down. Who dictates 'enough is enough' I'm not sure.

I can vouch for Holyhead Depot anyway. A friendly bunch of Drivers and Guards with excellent RMT representation and managers alike. Penny the Conductor Trainer down in Cardiff is also brilliant and really works with every individual to bring out the best in people. As a team.

Good luck to anyone going for it.
 

craigybagel

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They normally close way before the actual date stated for closure. It is generally the case that when there is enough applicants they take the post down. Who dictates 'enough is enough' I'm not sure.

I can vouch for Holyhead Depot anyway. A friendly bunch of Drivers and Guards with excellent RMT representation and managers alike. Penny the Conductor Trainer down in Cardiff is also brilliant and really works with every individual to bring out the best in people. As a team.

Good luck to anyone going for it.

The guard(s) for Holyhead probably won't be getting Penny - they've just recruited a new trainer for the North who's likely to be running the next course in Chester. I can also vouch for the training department though - whoever does the training it's all done to a good standard and it's a lot of fun. HHD SHR and CRE are also all great depots - each one has their own individual pros and cons but whoever gets these jobs and whichever ever depot they go to, they'll have made a great career move.
 

TeaTrain

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Agreed, all the people I have met from each depot has been very nice and welcoming. But having only been based at Holyhead depot felt it best to speak from my own experience.

Its about time they decided to do a training course in the north rather than send everyone down to Cardiff. It will make a huge difference in getting to grips with the correct traction for a start. We learnt down south with traction which wasn't even relevant to us and when we got back up north had to do it all over again XD. Also taking the trip down on a Monday morning to get into Cardiff for 10am and start class was tiring to do multiple weeks in a row.

I will never forget the hotel rooms and allowance for food though : D especially when Cigars were on the dessert menu!

Good times.....good times...
 

craigybagel

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Agreed, all the people I have met from each depot has been very nice and welcoming. But having only been based at Holyhead depot felt it best to speak from my own experience.

Its about time they decided to do a training course in the north rather than send everyone down to Cardiff. It will make a huge difference in getting to grips with the correct traction for a start. We learnt down south with traction which wasn't even relevant to us and when we got back up north had to do it all over again XD. Also taking the trip down on a Monday morning to get into Cardiff for 10am and start class was tiring to do multiple weeks in a row.

I will never forget the hotel rooms and allowance for food though : D especially when Cigars were on the dessert menu!

Good times.....good times...

The last few courses for the north have been in Chester to be fair. Personally speaking, as someone at the time in a long distance relationship and who's bedsit was smaller then the hotel rooms in Cardiff, living in one for 9 weeks was quite enjoyable - and we got a lot more time on traction then the Northern based course that was run before ours (back then there were guards from the North and South on the same courses, and you seemed to get allocated the course that suited time demands rather then geography). Yes, some of it was on 142/3s that we don't touch in the North, but they're not that much different to the 150s we do sign and they were still useful for practicing dispatch or evacuation, things that aren't so traction specific.
I
Very happy memories though I'm sure you'll agree :D even if the main course is in the North hopefully they do the induction in Cardiff so the lucky successful candidates get to enjoy that hotel - and especially the breakfast buffet

As for the depots, all three triangle depots (Crewe Shrewsbury and Chester) tend to interact a lot,with a lot of cross depot covering and indeed socialising going on - similar to HHD and LLJ I suspect - so even though I've only worked at one of them, we're all pretty well versed on what our friends down the road are up to.
 
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TeaTrain

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Yep your right. Great memories throughout. I didn't mean to sound like I was dissing the course. Simply a criticism which was shared with everyone on the course working in the north at the time.

It wasn't that door duties varied or anything it was simply going into being a guard from scratch it was difficult going from having the training on 142/3s then going up north and not knowing how to operate the doors on any other traction. It certainly threw the group of us that came back to Chester, LLJ, HHD. It also meant our manager angrily having to contact Cardiff to request a restructuring of the next course and added time onto us passing out. Don't get me started on 67/ DVT.

As a guard now it is very minor to worry about these small criticisms I understand, but some familiarity would of been beneficial to us northerners as well. Also we were a guinea pig for a new type of training which they implemented a few years back. I have no idea what it was like before but it was clear that somethings could of been better structured.

I was in a similar situation as yourself and in a long distance relationship splitting my time between HHD and London. I loved the rooms! They were great especially the ones overlooking the high street. I admit I didn't take advantage of the breakfast buffet enough.

The fact that it has changed for the better is what matters and I really can vouch for Arriva as a good company to work for. They looked after me when I had a work injury and respected my wishes when I had to leave even if I didn't want to. Its a shame that they have pulled out but hopefully the new TOC will be as good to everyone.

Once again good luck everyone!!
 

craigybagel

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Yep your right. Great memories throughout. I didn't mean to sound like I was dissing the course. Simply a criticism which was shared with everyone on the course working in the north at the time.

It wasn't that door duties varied or anything it was simply going into being a guard from scratch it was difficult going from having the training on 142/3s then going up north and not knowing how to operate the doors on any other traction. It certainly threw the group of us that came back to Chester, LLJ, HHD. It also meant our manager angrily having to contact Cardiff to request a restructuring of the next course and added time onto us passing out. Don't get me started on 67/ DVT.

As a guard now it is very minor to worry about these small criticisms I understand, but some familiarity would of been beneficial to us northerners as well. Also we were a guinea pig for a new type of training which they implemented a few years back. I have no idea what it was like before but it was clear that somethings could of been better structured.

I was in a similar situation as yourself and in a long distance relationship splitting my time between HHD and London. I loved the rooms! They were great especially the ones overlooking the high street. I admit I didn't take advantage of the breakfast buffet enough.

The fact that it has changed for the better is what matters and I really can vouch for Arriva as a good company to work for. They looked after me when I had a work injury and respected my wishes when I had to leave even if I didn't want to. Its a shame that they have pulled out but hopefully the new TOC will be as good to everyone.

Once again good luck everyone!!

That's fair enough - and likewise I hope you didn't think I was criticising your opinion! I just found it surprising as the year I trained, the people on the North course had much greater issues with traction training then in the South. Canton depot is a very useful source of trains to play with! I suspect it helped that whilst we did have guards who needed to sign 67/DVT, they were Shrewsbury based and normally Shrewsbury guards don't do that course till they've been out for a few months working the other stock anyway.

I suspect we're risking taking over the thread here with our reminiscing though! Hopefully it's some sign that whoever gets the job will have something to look forward to.

I'll be keeping an eye out to see when the jobs do get pulled, the competition will be fierce.
 
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TeaTrain

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HA HA that is true. Sorry to the OP. But indeed it is testament to our enjoyment and that you will be well looked after by the people whichever depot you go for.
 

NVM

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Hi All, I just missed the recent job posts to apply for.

Any idea when the next set of recruitment for the North will be ?

Any replies are appreciated! :)
 

craigybagel

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They didn't recruit for Chester this time which seems odd as that's the depot everyone's expecting vacancies to come up at (although there are a few guards waiting on internal transfers) so you might be lucky and see an advert coming up for there in the not too distant future - but the other depots the vacancies they've just advertised for were to fill a talent pool so it might be a while until they appear again.
 
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