Train driving in 2022 onwards is not just about the driving. With all TOCS now, they want someone with the capability and recognition that the role does / can involve a customer service element whether face to face or the way you drive the train etc. Researching the TOC to which you are applying shows that you have some motivation to join that specific TOC and are displaying the skills and motivation to go above and beyond to get the job. A perfect safety record tells only part of a drivers history. The interviews and assessments for qualifieds are designed to assess various micro skills which can help build a picture to establish whether there are likely to be company / driver incompatibility issues in the future. They don’t want a driver set in their ways. They want to see flexibility / open mindedness to the change, not someone set in their ways bringing them issues / bad habits / problems. A number of drivers at my place with good safety records and no issues have been unsuccessful at moving from my place to other TOCS as they’ve solely relied on their experience and safety record as a given they’ll get the job.What a load of tosh, problems drivers lol.
No one said its a given to get a job but surely having a clean safety record is more important then whether you know the values of a company that most dont even stick to anyway themselves lol.
We are train drivers, if you've proved yourself over the last 10 years without having any incidents then that should go a long way, im not against having assessments etc but they at least need to be relevant to the job which many aren't. Tocs love to promote customer service but let's be fair a driver is one area that probably has the least interaction with people on the railway operationally, yes we carry them and talk to them on a PA but thats different to being face to face.
I'm not saying we should go back to BR days with who you know etc but companies don't seem to actually look at your history much about how you've done the job but more about meeting requirements normally set by people who've never done the job themselves.
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