SWR Trainee Drivers at Staines, Woking and Waterloo

[saracen]

http://swrcareers.co.uk/apply/?page=2

Trainee Driver jobs going at Waterloo, Woking and Staines.

Good luck to all of those who apply

 

[Lasbrisas]

I notice there isn't a closing date listed, it's normally a couple of days after the listing.

 

[PudseyBearHST]

There isn't a closing date for any of the guard/commercial guard jobs either.

 

[SPADTrap]

Jump through the hoops, get the job and earn a good salary and get looked after while doing a job you'll enjoy.

Leave the others to get hung up on job advert typos, it is that simple.

 

[Val3ntine]

Good luck to all who go for this, I applied last year for the prior intake. They seem like a great company and HR have been amazing all the way!

 

[Lrd]

Can we get make on topic please? Let's start talking about the actual vacancies...

 

[jballz72]

Nail on the head SPADTrap.

Jump through the hoops, get the job and earn a good salary and get looked after while doing a job you'll enjoy.

Leave the others to get hung up on job advert typos, it is that simple.

Good luck to all who go for this, I applied last year for the prior intake. They seem like a great company and HR have been amazing all the way!

 

[jballz72]

With you on this one Val3ntine, HR where fantastic through the whole process, made you feel relaxed at each stage you had to pass, also kept you informed and good communication through out.

 

[dctraindriver]

I am soooo pleased posts whining about the way something is spelt has been deleted. As others have said apply and give it your best shot. Great job.

 

[Bromley boy]

Out of interest, for the Waterloo depot vacancies:

- what routes/traction are signed by the lowest links, and how quickly can one expect to move up through the links?;

- how many depot moves are SWR drivers permitted during their career with the TOC?;

- is there a taxi agreement to cover late finishes and early starts in central London, at times when it will be impossible to get back out to the suburbs due to service finishing (other than 2 hours on a night bus surrounded by drunks). I know this has been something of a bone of contention at the central London depots my TOC operates.

- is SWR a “true” 4 day week for drivers with Sundays inside?

- what is the current salary for first year drivers and how quickly can a trainee expect to progress to full* drivers’ money?

*£49,776 shown in advert as full rate but is this inclusive of London weighting etc. for Waterloo?

 

[RedAurora]

Hello all,
Short time reader, first time poster.
I applied to the Waterloo job. But after I submitted my application I realised that I made three or four spelling errors and I might have made a few grammatical errors. How likely is this to hinder my chances?

Also, there was a questionnaire which had three answers per question to choose from. Will my application go in the bin if I didn't give a specific answer for each question?

This is the first Train Driver job I've applied for so I am quite anxious.

- is there a taxi agreement to cover late finishes and early starts in central London, at times when it will be impossible to get back out to the suburbs due to service finishing (other than 2 hours on a night bus surrounded by drunks). I know this has been something of a bone of contention at the central London depots my TOC operates.

The job advert mentioned that applicants must live within 45 minutes of the depot. It said to be sure that you will be alright to make early starts and get home late.

 

[Bromley boy]

Hello all,
Short time reader, first time poster.
I applied to the Waterloo job. But after I submitted my application I realised that I made three or four spelling errors and I might have made a few grammatical errors. How likely is this to hinder my chances?

Also, there was a questionnaire which had three answers per question to choose from. Will my application go in the bin if I didn't give a specific answer for each question?

The job advert mentioned that applicants must live within 45 minutes of the depot. It said to be sure that you will be alright to make early starts and get home late.

I don't work for SWR but making spelling/grammatical errors in an application isn't ideal. I'd urge any applicant to proof read their application thoroughly and consider getting a friend to read it through to provide a second pair of eyes. At the application stage remember they are receiving thousands of applicants for a few posts so will be looking for excuses to weed people out. In your particular case it's done now, so there's little point losing sleep over it. Fingers crossed it won't make a difference (not to reopen the debate about the job add itself containing typos).

Re. the 45 minutes most TOCs state this as a requirement, but showing you live within 45 minutes of a central London depot at unsocial hours (as opposed to when trains are running) may be very difficult, unless you can persuade them e.g. you'll be coming in by motorbike and that there is parking for this mode of transport. I suspect there is some leeway on this in practice for central locations, so long as you can demonstrate you're a half sensible distance away.

 

[Sifyu]

I'm curious. Upon filling the application forms and submitting, do you get a confirmation email? I didn't seem to get any. In fact when I pressed submit, it just loaded up some box. Is this meant to be the case?

 

[eastldn]

I'm curious. Upon filling the application forms and submitting, do you get a confirmation email? I didn't seem to get any. In fact when I pressed submit, it just loaded up some box. Is this meant to be the case?

yeah it just submits and you have to have faith it happened

 

[Sifyu]

yeah it just submits and you have to have faith it happened

Haha. I thought as much! Just wanted to make sure I wasn't the only one.

I suppose that's why they are doing it in waves.

 

[Teddyward]

I'm curious. Upon filling the application forms and submitting, do you get a confirmation email? I didn't seem to get any. In fact when I pressed submit, it just loaded up some box. Is this meant to be the case?

I got an email that has a candidate number on it.

 

[RedAurora]

I don't work for SWR but making spelling/grammatical errors in an application isn't ideal. I'd urge any applicant to proof read their application thoroughly and consider getting a friend to read it through to provide a second pair of eyes. At the application stage remember they are receiving thousands of applicants for a few posts so will be looking for excuses to weed people out. In your particular case it's done now, so there's little point losing sleep over it. Fingers crossed it won't make a difference (not to reopen the debate about the job add itself containing typos).

I see. Well if I don't make it to the next stage at least i'll keep my two goes for the assessment centre if I apply later on.

 

[eastldn]

Haha. I thought as much! Just wanted to make sure I wasn't the only one.

I suppose that's why they are doing it in waves.

stand corrected - got a confirmation. GL.

 

[WA_Driver]

Out of interest, for the Waterloo depot vacancies:

- what routes/traction are signed by the lowest links, and how quickly can one expect to move up through the links?; 454/450/455/456/458/707

Routes: Waterloo to Guildford (Via Epsom/Cobham/Woking)
Waterloo to Chessington South
Waterloo to Dorking
Waterloo to Weybridge (Via Hounslow)
Waterloo to Windsor Eton Riverside
Waterloo to Shepperton
Waterloo to Waterloo (via Kingson/Twickenham) Vice Versa
Waterloo to Waterloo (Via Hounslow/Richmond) Vice Versa
Waterloo to Woking (Via Surbiton/Hounslow)
Waterloo to Hampton Court
East Putney Line
Clapham Yard
Wimbledon Park Depot

Link moves = How long is a piece of string. However, turnaround of staff is high at Waterloo

- how many depot moves are SWR drivers permitted during their career with the TOC?; I believe it’s two or three.

- is there a taxi agreement to cover late finishes and early starts in central London, at times when it will be impossible to get back out to the suburbs due to service finishing (other than 2 hours on a night bus surrounded by drunks). I know this has been something of a bone of contention at the central London depots my TOC operates. No....taxi agreement only covers ex BR drivers, unless you finish late on a duty due to problem out of your control and miss last connection home you can request a taxi. However if you do free day work and it finishes or starts where you can’t get home or into work you can also request a taxi

- is SWR a “true” 4 day week for drivers with Sundays inside? Works on an average of 35 hours at Waterloo and sundays are inside

- what is the current salary for first year drivers and how quickly can a trainee expect to progress to full* drivers’ money? your starting wage is £23,678 it increases after passing rules and again after completing your drivers assessment and the expect full drivers money after your first productive train

*£49,776 shown in advert as full rate but is this inclusive of London weighting etc. for Waterloo?

 

[Bromley boy]

Thanks for the very thorough response.

At Waterloo, are start/finish times late/early enough to ensure a rail connection back out after completion of the shift?

Last trains at my TOC are generally* worked by drivers form suburban depots (where there is parking) or by the night men at the depot in question, who can pass home after their duty on an early train.

*recently changed at one central location where, if you’re not ex BR, there’s no taxi back even though some shifts now start/end outside of TOC service hours. Not something I would ever want, as a driver.

 

[WA_Driver]

Thanks for the very thorough response.

At Waterloo, are start/finish times late/early enough to ensure a rail connection back out after completion of the shift?

Last trains at my TOC are generally* worked by drivers form suburban depots (where there is parking) or by the night men at the depot in question, who can pass home after their duty on an early train.

*recently changed at one central location where, if you’re not ex BR, there’s no taxi back even though some shifts now start/end outside of TOC service hours. Not something I would ever want, as a driver.

Earliest start is 0403
Lastest is 0050, which is last jubilee line on a weekday (unless your in night drivers Link)

Most drivers that start at 0403 or just after usually drive to Clapham Yard and park as there is a staff taxi but don’t know the times as I don’t use it. But there is parking spaces at Waterloo station for staff....

In the interviews or application stage they ask your options for getting to the depot you’ve requested and use that info to decide.

Your last statement is correct. But there is an agreement that if you work free days where you can’t get in or home they will provide a taxi & if you finish late (due to unforeseen circumstances) on a late turn where you miss your connection home they will provide a taxi.

 

[blackfrost]

Thanks for the very in depth replies! I'm due to have an assessment for the trainee driver role for Waterloo too anybody recently passed an assessment with SWT/SWr

 

[Bromley boy]

Earliest start is 0403
Lastest is 0050, which is last jubilee line on a weekday (unless your in night drivers Link)

Most drivers that start at 0403 or just after usually drive to Clapham Yard and park as there is a staff taxi but don’t know the times as I don’t use it. But there is parking spaces at Waterloo station for staff....

In the interviews or application stage they ask your options for getting to the depot you’ve requested and use that info to decide.

Your last statement is correct. But there is an agreement that if you work free days where you can’t get in or home they will provide a taxi & if you finish late (due to unforeseen circumstances) on a late turn where you miss your connection home they will provide a taxi.

Many thanks again for the detail.

 

[UniAnchor]

Hi guys, applied on Saturday morning (around 10 hours after position posted)
Does anyone have any idea roughly how long they'll take to get back to me?

Thanks in advance

 

[Johnny Depot]

Thanks for the very in depth replies! I'm due to have an assessment for the trainee driver role for Waterloo too anybody recently passed an assessment with SWT/SWr

Well done. Out of interest how long ago did you apply?

 

[blackfrost]

Well done. Out of interest how long ago did you apply?

I applied in December last year and only got an invite to the assessment in September! In all that time which passed I actually forgot I applied for the job! There was me thinking southern take long to respond to job applications! Really hoping I can pass this though it seems like it's going to be a big recruitment drive I'm guessing for the new franchise.

Anybody in the know, know how many drivers they're looking to recruit at Waterloo?

 

[Johnny Depot]

I applied in December last year and only got an invite to the assessment in September! In all that time which passed I actually forgot I applied for the job! There was me thinking southern take long to respond to job applications! Really hoping I can pass this though it seems like it's going to be a big recruitment drive I'm guessing for the new franchise.

Anybody in the know, know how many drivers they're looking to recruit at Waterloo?

Oh right - I thought your application was only recent. Best of luck going forward and cheers for responding.

 

[daylightatthegrids]

My understanding as SWR employee is around 150 drivers within Wimbledon area depots and Woking. This has to do with the implemented timetable going live by December 2020.

 

[RedAurora]

I applied in December last year and only got an invite to the assessment in September! In all that time which passed I actually forgot I applied for the job! There was me thinking southern take long to respond to job applications! Really hoping I can pass this though it seems like it's going to be a big recruitment drive I'm guessing for the new franchise.

Anybody in the know, know how many drivers they're looking to recruit at Waterloo?

Interesting. I also thought you applied to the new job advert. I noticed it said they were bringing in 80 new bombardier trains and wanting to move 52k more passengers. I'm also wondering what that means for the number of new drivers they want to take on as trainees. How many current drivers will be moving from the old trains to the new ones? How many will be left for new trainees? Or will new drivers start on old trains?

 

[Johnny Depot]

I applied in December last year and only got an invite to the assessment in September! In all that time which passed I actually forgot I applied for the job! There was me thinking southern take long to respond to job applications! Really hoping I can pass this though it seems like it's going to be a big recruitment drive I'm guessing for the new franchise.

Anybody in the know, know how many drivers they're looking to recruit at Waterloo?

Can I ask did you receive your invite to an assessment day following your application. You didn't have any online assessments in this?

Looks like I'll be in for a long wait either way - plenty of time to practice I suppose.