Trainee Driver vacancies DBS

[treacletowner]

I applied back in June for the Leicester depot (I think?! Its been so long I can't be sure!) and other than an an email acknowledging safe receipt of my application I haven't heard anything.

 

[raoa4x]

What depot did you apply for? Personally I found the structured interview to be the most difficult. Plenty of stuff on here to help you with that.

I applied for Leicester. This is my first assessment and I am new to this site too, so just finding out as much as I can and what to expect. I have seen some posts but a lot of people seem to be saying different things.

 

[Jamesb1974]

It's a difficult situation and only you can really answer your questions - dropping from (say) £45K to low £20K's would be a big hit for singletons desperate to get in the seat and prepared to race to the bottom to achieve it - not so simple for a family man with commitments.

Ignore the rather snide comments and sit with a pen and paper (or whatever app on whatever tablet ) and realistically work out the figures.
Figure on 12-18 months before attaining top wage (and don't rely on overtime to fill any gaps!) - naturally, a large depot with long and complex core routes means longer before 'passing out' compared to a small one-route, one customer operation.

And thank DRI agreements over the last decade or so for 'training wages' - this is one of the reasons current drivers earn so much - reap rewards to the detriment of those joining the grade in the future.

Best of luck with it and it's worth remembering that it's not just the salary that is attractive - annual leave, a 35 hour working week and (relatively) good pension all add up.

Short term pain for long term gain.

What he said.

If it helps (and if its not too late), I took a very similar plunge last year. Leaving a job paying £38k that I was happy in, to drop to a £21k training wage. But it is do-able. Yes, I struggled, yes we hit the credit cards but as Legzr says, 'short term pain, long term gain'. If its what you want to do, take the step.

 

[Kells21]

Got assesment in Doncaster all advice on how to pass tests welcome

 

[dakta]

hit the search button

 

[Firefighter349]

Okay so I'm doing pretty well at all the practice tests... I'm getting there at least! Haha
A quick question to those who have tried their hand at the practice tests... How many line are you reaching in 1 minute on the group bourdon sheets?
I'm getting a steady 13 to 14 lines without a single mistake. What's everyone else getting out of interest?

 

[Firefighter349]

Hey guys,
Been to Doncaster today and sat ALL the assessments and the MMI interview... Smashed them all! passed! so happy!!!!
I was the only one there!!

 

[MuttleyBOT]

Hey guys,
Been to Doncaster today and sat ALL the assessments and the MMI interview... Smashed them all! passed! so happy!!!!
I was the only one there!!

Well done mate - have you got a start date with them or do you have more interviews to do?

 

[Firefighter349]

Well done mate - have you got a start date with them or do you have more interviews to do?

Hey, thanks man, well apparently there is a course in feb, may and july.... The latter two courses aren't filled so here's hoping for one of them.
Got medical, references and managers interview left... That's it!!! Assessment wise... All done

 

[raoa4x]

A big well done to you. I too have a day in Doncaster, just wondering what to expect from the day and what your thoughts were as to what was most difficult?

 

[Firefighter349]

A big well done to you. I too have a day in Doncaster, just wondering what to expect from the day and what your thoughts were as to what was most difficult?

Hello,
Thankyou, much appreciated.

Okay, so... the day starts with the most obvious test to weed people out from the start, the GBT.
Apparently i did well on this and i only did around 7 lines per block but i did them with pure accuracy.

All the other tests, in my mind at least, were pretty straight forward and not particulary hard, just got to keep your wits about you if im honest.

The hardest i found was the one where you have images flashed at you for 1 second and then you have to mark down what was in the picture ... i honestly thought that was going to be my downfall but luckily i came out unscathed!

I found the Dials and Gauges one quite fun actually, once youve read the instructions properly it just clicks and away you go.

The assessor was awesome, friendly and would answer anything you wanted to ask. You will have no worries about not knowing what your doing because he will make sure you know before you start.

MMI - This is the tough one.
Its a grilling and quite intense but if you have told the truth about your experiences in the pre interview form then a grilling poses no problem as you can just reel off exactly what happened. Just rememeber to use the S.T.A.R. method when answering.
Just be calm, be yourself and tell the truth ... from what others have said, you will be caught out.

All in all i had the fear of god put into by reading too many comments on this forum and it turns out i actually quite enjoyed the day, it was a good experience and if you do your revision, have your breakffast on the day, keep your wits and common sense about you then all will be fine!

Good luck to you.
If you want anything else then please feel free to ask.

 

[raoa4x]

I have studied the material and done all the practice tests as best as I can, I have also pulled some tests off the internet to get me some variety. I have just been wanting to do so well in the assessment as its something I always wanted to do, I just hope I don't mess up anywhere. What were the MMI questions related to?
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Hello,
Thankyou, much appreciated.

Okay, so... the day starts with the most obvious test to weed people out from the start, the GBT.
Apparently i did well on this and i only did around 7 lines per block but i did them with pure accuracy.

All the other tests, in my mind at least, were pretty straight forward and not particulary hard, just got to keep your wits about you if im honest.

The hardest i found was the one where you have images flashed at you for 1 second and then you have to mark down what was in the picture ... i honestly thought that was going to be my downfall but luckily i came out unscathed!

I found the Dials and Gauges one quite fun actually, once youve read the instructions properly it just clicks and away you go.

The assessor was awesome, friendly and would answer anything you wanted to ask. You will have no worries about not knowing what your doing because he will make sure you know before you start.

MMI - This is the tough one.
Its a grilling and quite intense but if you have told the truth about your experiences in the pre interview form then a grilling poses no problem as you can just reel off exactly what happened. Just rememeber to use the S.T.A.R. method when answering.
Just be calm, be yourself and tell the truth ... from what others have said, you will be caught out.

All in all i had the fear of god put into by reading too many comments on this forum and it turns out i actually quite enjoyed the day, it was a good experience and if you do your revision, have your breakffast on the day, keep your wits and common sense about you then all will be fine!

Good luck to you.
If you want anything else then please feel free to ask.

I have studied the material and done all the practice tests as best as I can, I have also pulled some tests off the internet to get me some variety. I have just been wanting to do so well in the assessment as its something I always wanted to do, I just hope I don't mess up anywhere. What were the MMI questions related to?

 

[Andy999]

Hi firefighter ,what questions did they ask you on the mmi ,I have assessment in February

 

[Firefighter349]

Hi firefighter ,what questions did they ask you on the mmi ,I have assessment in February

Andy999 and raoa4x ...

The MMI comprises of 6 questions asking you to give examples of ( can't remember them all ) -
When have you had to persevere to learn something?
When have you done something where it was imperative you didn't make a mistake?
When have you been in an emergency situation and had to work under pressure?

... My memory fails me on the rest but you get the jist of it ...

 

[Pompy]

Well done and good luck to all that have got through.
I don't want to burst any bubbles but I too got through and also passed managers interview however this was last May and I'm still waiting for a place.
The good thing is that the assessment pass is a pass and good for other TOC's and I'm now with another company starting soon.
Its not quick but worth waiting for

 

[raoa4x]

Andy999 and raoa4x ...

The MMI comprises of 6 questions asking you to give examples of ( can't remember them all ) -
When have you had to persevere to learn something?
When have you done something where it was imperative you didn't make a mistake?
When have you been in an emergency situation and had to work under pressure?

... My memory fails me on the rest but you get the jist of it ...

Did they ask anything about training? or regarding if you ever have been involved with a fatality? Sorry about all the questions, just want to make sure I have the best possible chance!

 

[387star]

Hello,
Thankyou, much appreciated.

Okay, so... the day starts with the most obvious test to weed people out from the start, the GBT.
Apparently i did well on this and i only did around 7 lines per block but i did them with pure accuracy.

All the other tests, in my mind at least, were pretty straight forward and not particulary hard, just got to keep your wits about you if im honest.

The hardest i found was the one where you have images flashed at you for 1 second and then you have to mark down what was in the picture ... i honestly thought that was going to be my downfall but luckily i came out unscathed!

I found the Dials and Gauges one quite fun actually, once youve read the instructions properly it just clicks and away you go.

The assessor was awesome, friendly and would answer anything you wanted to ask. You will have no worries about not knowing what your doing because he will make sure you know before you start.

MMI - This is the tough one.
Its a grilling and quite intense but if you have told the truth about your experiences in the pre interview form then a grilling poses no problem as you can just reel off exactly what happened. Just rememeber to use the S.T.A.R. method when answering.
Just be calm, be yourself and tell the truth ... from what others have said, you will be caught out.

All in all i had the fear of god put into by reading too many comments on this forum and it turns out i actually quite enjoyed the day, it was a good experience and if you do your revision, have your breakffast on the day, keep your wits and common sense about you then all will be fine!

Good luck to you.
If you want anything else then please feel free to ask.

Well said agree with this

Tests are all very straight forward the flashing image one being the hardest... The wafv probably second hardest Obviously stressful though with the two attempt rule

You do need to concentrate though obviously !

Yes the MMI was by far the hardest part of the day make sure you talk about specific experiences don't miss anything out and be very factual and accurate as to your actions
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Did they ask anything about training? or regarding if you ever have been involved with a fatality? Sorry about all the questions, just want to make sure I have the best possible chance!

The listed questions are slightly different to those. I had so they must change it up a bit think about the role and you should be fine

 

[Kells21]

Hey guys,
Been to Doncaster today and sat ALL the assessments and the MMI interview... Smashed them all! passed! so happy!!!!
I was the only one there!!

What depot firefighter congrats

 

[Firefighter349]

What depot firefighter congrats

Thankyou,

I applied for Leiscester and Crewe.

 

[tlionhart]

Congratulations on passing! As ML says, they are not all that. Some tests are fun. I enjoyed the 2-hand co-ordination test. My hated test was tea-occ.
The forum does make them sound scary when in fact they aren't. Not easy, that's true, mostly because of the time given to complete them. Certainly passable. I noticed most tests are concentration based. Best practice for them is seriously video games. Not talking minor ipad games, I'm talking call of duty and alike. Those games are fast, require lots of dedication and attention to actually get somewhere. Well certainly spiked my concentration up! Helped with the green button/grey box test. (Forgot what it's called)

I have an application with DBS. Heard nothing, despite passing everything. Only got the confirmation of application receipt email. Guess I'm in the bin now :cry:
Another theory and fact to add...paying stupid money will not guarantee you a look in for future driver positions. However, I went via a TOC through a recruitment process. (Yep, I was the first batch to do this new tests without any advice at all. Goes to show witch craft isn't required!)

 

[steve1982]

Got assesment in Doncaster all advice on how to pass tests welcome

Hey Kels when did you apply? And for what position plelase

 

[387star]

The worst part can be seeing other candidates sent home you really feel for them several failed stage one at an assessment I sat

 

[Firefighter349]

The worst part can be seeing other candidates sent home you really feel for them several failed stage one at an assessment I sat

I was on my own all day so I didn't have to feel sorry for anyone! Haha

 

[dakta]

Yeras back I had the opposite happen, there was a large group of us (all nervous) and after the first stage (old tests) I was asked to come forward and i didn't see anyone else at all and had lunch in the canteen area on my own I hope the subsequent tests were done privately but given I had the tester taking me through everything from that point on one a one-to-one basis I have to hope they had a lot more staff lurking around!

My heart does go out to everyone if its what it appeared to be I think it can be pretty damn brutal.

 

[Sirgerbil]

The worst part can be seeing other candidates sent home you really feel for them several failed stage one at an assessment I sat

I can imagine that's pretty tough to sit there and watch! I am a little worried about the MMI but I think that having to do that "Walk of shame" is even worse!

And then on the flipside, It must be hard to sit there and watch people leave!

 

[SkinnyDave]

The worst part can be seeing other candidates sent home you really feel for them several failed stage one at an assessment I sat

That happened at mine I know it's dog eat dog etc but they were not given a thanks for coming or anything it was you didn't achieve the required standard please leave lol

 

[Kells21]

Hey Kels when did you apply? And for what position plelase

Online mate for trainee driver

 

[steve1982]

Online mate for trainee driver

Cheers mate I'll just have to keep checking the sites daily hope there is more jobs for trainees soon, in the mean time I'm practicing the GBT as much as possible.

 

[raoa4x]

Well after all the heartache in worrying about my assessment. ......I did it today and passed I actually cannot believe it, I honestly thought I wouldn't make it through. I really enjoyed the day and the practice documents really helped.

 

[steve1982]

Well after all the heartache in worrying about my assessment. ......I did it today and passed I actually cannot believe it, I honestly thought I wouldn't make it through. I really enjoyed the day and the practice documents really helped.

Congratulations mate