Trainee Train Driver Talent Pools

[harrypotter50]

Good Afternoon everyone,

I have been considering a career change for some time and have been researching the role of a Train Driver. I stumbled across this site recently and have been reading about talent pools. From what I have read I understand it can take on average one year from application to passing interviews and assessments to being offered a place in the talent pool.
Is it correct that the position lasts 2 years as this is when the assessments expire? Also what are the chances of being offered a job during those 2 years?
It seems a lot of work to get into the pool and I cant imagine the disappointment if nothing comes of it, but I appreciate you have to be in it to win it!

 

[Nic nic]

Completely depends on the company you are applying with. Some are quicker than others in terms of time it may take. It depends how quickly they need to recruit and number of courses they need to fill or have.
Also some companies will advertise specifically for a talent pool and not an actual role as they expect staff turnover in the coming year. This may not happen as they expect i.e. hardly any retirements job leavers or a higher number of retirements than first expected.

Also another curve ball is that some companies will accept a longer period on time since tests were done. I think 5 years is the max currently but I am sure someone will correct me if I am wrong.

Sorry this is not a clear answer but there are a lot of differences between operators in the UK.

 

[Tz55uk]

I passed all assessments in 2018 , then dmi in 2019, ready to start last year, covid came and now iv been told no recruitment for at least two years, so for me dream has gone, has theres not going to be any new intakes anytime soon in my eyes, hopefully I'm wrong, but very disappointing hard work for nothing

 

[Val3ntine]

I passed all assessments in 2018 , then dmi in 2019, ready to start last year, covid came and now iv been told no recruitment for at least two years, so for me dream has gone, has theres not going to be any new intakes anytime soon in my eyes, hopefully I'm wrong, but very disappointing hard work for nothing

Apply for other TOCS, don’t leave all your eggs in one basket. Especially with your assessment passes.

 

[harrypotter50]

I passed all assessments in 2018 , then dmi in 2019, ready to start last year, covid came and now iv been told no recruitment for at least two years, so for me dream has gone, has theres not going to be any new intakes anytime soon in my eyes, hopefully I'm wrong, but very disappointing hard work for nothing

Sorry to hear that. That is my concern, I would put all the hard work in and sit in a pool and nothing comes of it.
Are you in a pool with an expiry date now? If the passes last for 5 years then surely they will contact you within that timeframe?

 

[Stigy]

Sorry to hear that. That is my concern, I would put all the hard work in and sit in a pool and nothing comes of it.
Are you in a pool with an expiry date now? If the passes last for 5 years then surely they will contact you within that timeframe?

As has been said above, there’s no hard and fast answer to this really. It depends on the TOC as to whether you’ll get a job at the end of it and their policy on plucking people from pools. The psychometric results last between 1 and 5 years depending on company, although most tend to be 3 or 5 years.

I was in a pool for a couple of months, whereas friends of mine are still in limbo and they were placed in pools at the same time as me back in Jan 2019.

 

[dan2610]

I passed all assessments in 2018 , then dmi in 2019, ready to start last year, covid came and now iv been told no recruitment for at least two years, so for me dream has gone, has theres not going to be any new intakes anytime soon in my eyes, hopefully I'm wrong, but very disappointing hard work for nothing

Which company/depot is this if you don't mind saying?

I'm surprised a TOC would openly say there is nothing for two years, as especially now with Covid I'm sure predicting or planning for future demand is harder than ever. I'd have thought even if a TOC did think that way, they wouldn't go announcing to their candidates who could then start looking elsewhere.