Northern - Manchester Driver

[JRE]

Hello all,

I chased up my Driver application today for Northern (Manchester role).

Unfortunately, they've pulled the roles! Apparently there's no business need for them anymore (I assume because of Covid).

I'd passed everything and was up-to the Medical stage.

I guess my question is... Is anybody else in the same boat?
And do you think that the jobs will be readvertised within the next 12 months or so?

J

 

[ILoveLamp]

Nightmare! You must feel a bit cheesed off, to say the least, with being so close! Have they not entered you into a talent pool for when a position becomes available?

 

[JRE]

Nightmare! You must feel a bit cheesed off, to say the least, with being so close! Have they not entered you into a talent pool for when a position becomes available?

They have! But only for 9 months, since the date of my first interview with them... Which was May, last year so that's basically expired haha.

It's disappointing that I've heard nothing for 3 months, and then have been met with that as a response to my chase-up e-mail, but I guess it is what it is!

I'm just hoping that they'll be recruiting again soon? Nothing is certain anymore though, is it.

 

[ILoveLamp]

They have! But only for 9 months, since the date of my first interview with them... Which was May, last year so that's basically expired haha.

It's disappointing that I've heard nothing for 3 months, and then have been met with that as a response to my chase-up e-mail, but I guess it is what it is!

I'm just hoping that they'll be recruiting again soon? Nothing is certain anymore though, is it.

Oh, given 9 months buts it’s already expired? Sounds poor that.. Well at least you have your passes and you can keep applying, every cloud and all that...

 

[Louby]

Don't get your hopes up, heard the training school is closing for at least 3 months as we have lots of trainees about and are at the min well over established everywhere, probably due to the past 12 months, it will recover at some point

 

[LokiB]

Don't get your hopes up, heard the training school is closing for at least 3 months as we have lots of trainees about and are at the min well over established everywhere, probably due to the past 12 months, it will recover at some point

Is this just for drivers or is it the same for guards as well?

 

[Louby]

Is this just for drivers or is it the same for guards as well?

Not sure over guards

 

[skyhigh]

Don't get your hopes up, heard the training school is closing for at least 3 months as we have lots of trainees about and are at the min well over established everywhere, probably due to the past 12 months, it will recover at some point

I presume this is for the West Side only?

 

[Louby]

I presume this is for the West Side only?

Yes

 

[skyhigh]

Yes

That's good - I know someone who's starting a course imminently so I hoped it hadn't been pulled at the last minute!

 

[Red Devil]

I know there are 24 trainees at Liverpool in limbo awaiting instructor's and training.

 

[JRE]

Do we think that it'll pick up at any point in the next year or so?
Or do we think Covid has created a great-reset, where there'll be less Rail jobs, services etc?

 

[Llama]

The biggest issue is the effect that Covid has had on training, rather than any likely reduction in services (or not) etc.

As such, there is a huge backlog of trainees already in the pipeline, costing money, that is going to take a long, long time to get through. Whether more trainees were recruited right now, or in say 18 months time - they would still probably only be productive at about the same time, 2-3 years from now. It'd be pointless taking them on now to spend a year or more sat at home, there's already plenty of trainees who've been doing that.

It's not just about the amount of pork fed into the sausage machine too - newly qualified drivers need a shedload of extra assessments and further traction and route training for their first 2 years or so after qualifying - without recruiting more driver managers to do those post-qualifying assessments that would just be another bottleneck further down the line - drivers overdue an assessment are stood down. So maybe think of that as being a constraint in the capacity to package said sausages once they've come out of the machine.

 

[TeaTrain]

@Llama indeed. What you say is correct for other TOCS at Manchester too. There has been enough sitting around (for 12 months) like you say. The company is spending very large sums of money paying trainees etc that have not even started.
It is a shame for those who were ready to go and almost there