Which TOCs accept the DB Schenker private driver assesment?

[scouseyb123]

Hi if I pay to do a private driver assesement as provided by DB Schenker do Northern and/or other TOCs accept the results from these if you pass them? Cheers

 

[DerekDingle]

Yes they will. It’s the actual test you would take at any toc/foc. You might have to get an enhanced pass, in some areas of the test, to be accepted with some Tocs though.

 

[Dynamonic]

Just be aware that paying for a private OPC assessment is unlikely to increase your chances of being accepted by a TOC.
You will still be required to apply for active Trainee Driver vacancies, and pass their paper sifts and any (non-OPC) assessments which a TOC may hold, plus the Driver Manager Interview.

Many people on here (me included) would advise you to not pay for the assessments yourself and instead wait to be put through them (for free) by the TOC, when you know you’re already through their sift.

The last thing you would want is for your tests to expire before you had the chance to get past a paper sift, as your results can become invalid within as little as two or three years with some TOCs.

Of course, it is up to you, and passing the assessment here will mean you ‘may’ skip those particular tests with any TOC/FOC you apply for, depending on whether or not you achieved their standard and achieved it within their timeframe.

Good luck scouseyb123.

 

[Rocket Man]

Hi, I went down the same route as you’re thinking of going, and for me it worked. I passed the tests first time at my own convenience, at a date and time that was suitable for me. After passing the tests the first trainee drivers job that came up I applied for, with pretty much the same application however this time I had a certificate to say that I had passed the psychometric tests. I was put straight through to a final stage interview and landed myself a trainee drivers job.

A good friend also did the same, he had a railway background but once he had achieved a pass on the psychometric tests he went straight to final stage interview on his next application and got himself a trainee drivers job. Also since advising another friend of taking this route he himself has passed the tests and next week has a final stage interview, having previously not been able to get through the application sift. Time will tell if he can land himself a role, but since passing the psychometric tests he has gone from knock back at the sift to final stage interview.

Will it work for you? Who knows, but there are folk on here who are still applying for trainee jobs at the time I was and since then I’ve been fortunate enough to land a trainee drivers job, get passed out and then change TOC’s and get passed out on all new traction and routes.

I would advise you to go for it, give yourself every opportunity you can to try and stand out from other applicants.

Good luck in your future applications mate.

 

[Urobach]

Hi, I went down the same route as you’re thinking of going, and for me it worked. I passed the tests first time at my own convenience, at a date and time that was suitable for me. After passing the tests the first trainee drivers job thatI was put straight through to a final stage interview and landed myself a trainee drivers job.

A good friend also did the same, he had a railway background but once he had achieved a pass on the psychometric tests he went straight to final stage interview on his next application and got himself a trainee drivers job. Also since advising another friend of taking this route he himself has passed the tests and next week has a final stage interview, having previously not been able to get through the application sift. Time will tell if he can land himself a role, but since passing the psychometric tests he has gone from knock back at the sift to final stage interview.

Will it work for you? Who knows, but there are folk on here who are still applying for trainee jobs at the time I was and since then I’ve been fortunate enough to land a trainee drivers job, get passed out and then change TOC’s and get passed out on all new traction and routes.

I would advise you to go for it, give yourself every opportunity you can to try and stand out from other applicants.

Good luck in your future applications mate.

+3 people for this including me. Best thing I ever did. Passed first time and the next two TOCs I applied for took me straight through to interview. I have been a fully qualified driver now for four years and not looked back. The other two also passed and were also taken straight to interview on their next applications and offered jobs.

Based on that evidence I'd highly recommend anyone to do it if they're struggling to pass the sift.

 

[red2005]

Me personally...... I wouldn’t bother...... if your application is good enough you’ll get through to a Toc’s testing anyway and save yourself a few quid.

Remember you’re up against some stiff opposition due to the numbers and people will have just as much if not more suitable qualifications than a fluffy paid for psychometric test pass.......... yes it shows you’ve used some initiative etc which is never a bad thing but does it make you any more an attractive applicant than say someone else who’s achieved a pass already with another Toc and is now your competition on this application? Probably not...... does it make it look like you want it more? Probably not.

It’s your application that’s the important thing..... I paid to do it this way once and given how I got my job it was a waste of time, effort and money I didn’t really have at the time. Remember for every member of HR that says “ ooh look he/she has paid for it themselves” another is saying “what have they done that for? they could of done it for free here and they’ll be retaking it anyway”

If there was a guarantee of it getting you through a sift or a guarantee of them not making you retake them anyway I’d say it’s money well spent...... but going down this route doesn’t even guarantee that they’ll actually read in your application that you’ve actually paid to do it if the rest of the application isn’t good enough.

If it was me I’d rather spend the day that it takes to do these tests visiting train crew depot’s, knocking on driver managers doors getting my face known and getting as much of the tonnes of information required to get through a sift successfully as I could.

The tests at some point will very much take care of themselves..... there’s lots of other ways you can be proactive and these ways will probably help you more than paying to do this.

Good luck mate.

 

[greatkingrat]

Having random strangers knock on their door is more likely to annoy rather than impress any driver managers. DMs are unlikely to have any involvement in the initial shortlisting anyway, which is normally done by HR.

 

[red2005]

I’m not sure what driver managers you have but the driver managers I’ve encountered in my career have always been welcoming of someone who thinks outside of the box.

I actually never said that they’d have anything to do with the initial shortlisting.... I meant they certainly have hints and tips that will certainly help potential candidates on their way whilst not handing it to them on a plate........ one thing that wouldn’t be forgotten is that face should you end up being interviewed by said manager......he/she would certainly have an idea on your personality before a question has even been asked....... and it’s about standing out i know I’d feel more confident when being asked in an interview what research I’d done having spoken to frontline staff members first.

Annoy indeed.

 

[SPADTrap]

Pay2Drive! Innovative.

 

[Gemz91]

How much is it to do a test privately?

 

[Spankthemonkey]

Me personally...... I wouldn’t bother...... if your application is good enough you’ll get through to a Toc’s testing anyway and save yourself a few quid.

Remember you’re up against some stiff opposition due to the numbers and people will have just as much if not more suitable qualifications than a fluffy paid for psychometric test pass.......... yes it shows you’ve used some initiative etc which is never a bad thing but does it make you any more an attractive applicant than say someone else who’s achieved a pass already with another Toc and is now your competition on this application? Probably not...... does it make it look like you want it more? Probably not.

It’s your application that’s the important thing..... I paid to do it this way once and given how I got my job it was a waste of time, effort and money I didn’t really have at the time. Remember for every member of HR that says “ ooh look he/she has paid for it themselves” another is saying “what have they done that for? they could of done it for free here and they’ll be retaking it anyway”

If there was a guarantee of it getting you through a sift or a guarantee of them not making you retake them anyway I’d say it’s money well spent...... but going down this route doesn’t even guarantee that they’ll actually read in your application that you’ve actually paid to do it if the rest of the application isn’t good enough.

If it was me I’d rather spend the day that it takes to do these tests visiting train crew depot’s, knocking on driver managers doors getting my face known and getting as much of the tonnes of information required to get through a sift successfully as I could.

The tests at some point will very much take care of themselves..... there’s lots of other ways you can be proactive and these ways will probably help you more than paying to do this.

Good luck mate.

I agree with pretty much all of this. Use your time to develop an application worthy of passing a sift and getting to know drivers, managers etc at the toc you are aiming at. Taking it with DBS does admittedly show a level of drive, commitment and initiative, but it is counterbalanced massively by the time limit conundrum mentioned in an earlier post and to a lesser extent by the potential of opinions of recruitment who may see it as dodging the pressure pot of a room full of other applicants at the official first recruitment stage.

 

[red2005]

I agree with pretty much all of this. Use your time to develop an application worthy of passing a sift and getting to know drivers, managers etc at the toc you are aiming at. Taking it with DBS does admittedly show a level of drive, commitment and initiative, but it is counterbalanced massively by the time limit conundrum mentioned in an earlier post and to a lesser extent by the potential of opinions of recruitment who may see it as dodging the pressure pot of a room full of other applicants at the official first recruitment stage.

Definitely mate! If you’ve money to burn and aren’t really bothered about a potential Toc making you take their tests anyway I’d say go for it!.... as you say it shows drive etc.... but I think if people look at something like this as a defining factor in getting through sifts etc they’re probably gonna come up short anyway as it takes a lot more than a test pass to get through a sift as there’s another 101 positive aspects they’ll be looking for in the application.

I don’t mean to sound negative as I had the exact same thought process myself at one time and it genuinely did me no favours...... yes maybe do it as an aid to your application but I’d say don’t cling onto it as the thing that virtually guarantees you access to the next stage of the process..... I’d much rather see people chuffed to bits on here because they’ve got through with a brilliant application than disappointment because they thought this avenue made it a sure thing...... the disappointment and ridiculous conspiracy theories banded around on here of late have been far to frequent as it is lol.

 

[Rocket Man]

Regarding the application sift it seems a lot comes down to what transferable skills you have. We did part of our training course with another group of trainees who were a few weeks ahead of us and their backgrounds consisted of fire fighters, police, prison officers, a paramedic and ex guards.

My course had ex police and guards amongst others but 50% of the trainees on my course had taken the test privately and we came from varied backgrounds. It really depends what the TOC is looking for in the application and what skills you can take across to the role. My background is very different to the above roles and having a “fluffy” pass certificate certainly helped me, and has no doubt helped many others. I have only ever heard positive comments from drivers who have taken this same route, pass the tests privately then they get through with their next application.

If you can demonstrate the skills required and show your suitability better than the thousands of other applicants then don't bother with the tests keep fine tuning your application and maybe knock on a few doors and do a bit of brown nosing and you'll be just fine.

If you want to give yourself every opportunity you can to be at the front of the pack then pass the tests in your own time, as the HR woman said to me about my pass certificate "why would we bother putting others through a day of testing when you have already demonstrated that you are at the required standard? Its better to interview you rather than have another potential failure at the testing stage, it saves time and money.

Each to their own though.

 

[Val3ntine]

Also worth remembering that waiting to pass the initial sift with a TOC and doing the tests with them ensures that you do the tests when they are actually hiring. TOCS only accept passes for up to 1-5 years, chances are a TOC may not even recruit trainees for years and your pass validity runs out. To be fair lately there have been trainee positions advertised more frequently than ever before, but that could cease anytime. It is definetly not unusual for TOCS to not advertise for trainees for years and years, definetly exceeding 5 for sure.

 

[Dot2018]

How much is it to do a test privately?

appears to be around £450 based on their website info

 

[choochoochoo]

as the HR woman said to me about my pass certificate "why would we bother putting others through a day of testing when you have already demonstrated that you are at the required standard? Its better to interview you rather than have another potential failure at the testing stage, it saves time and money.

Because just passing tests and meeting psychometric standards doesn't make someone the best candidate for the job. I can think of quite a few people who'd jump through that loop but then have an attitude that would stink during training.

And there could be better candidates out there who could attain higher standards but are now not getting the opportunity to display it.

Speaking to my airline pilot friends, this is definitely another step to pay2drive. They told me Ryanair actually charge pilot applicants an admin fee to apply ! I wonder which TOC/FOC will be the first to do this?

 

[red2005]

“If you can demonstrate the skills required and show your suitability better than the thousands of other applicants then don't bother with the tests keep fine tuning your application and maybe knock on a few doors and do a bit of brown nosing and you'll be just fine”

Isn’t the first bit of that statement the thing every applicant is meant to do anyway? The way you worded that it sounded like people only take the tests this way because they lack in other areas and this is one way of making up for it (which it doesn’t) And it doesn’t half sound like you ALSO feel it’s pointless doing them with that statement. I think most people who have managed to get driving jobs on here would argue that the guys you speak about who got jobs with these passes will have done so because the rest of their applications were good enough and the test pass didn’t really have the impact that you think it had.

As for brown nosing.......who cares? A conscience is all well and good but while someone is sat here without a driving job with their squeaky clean conscience the applicant who decided to take their career by the balls and not give two hoots about every other applicant he or she was up against is in their job for life...... the only people on the railway that ever whinge about “Brown nosing” are generally the ones who often have the green eyed monster syndrome.

 

[red2005]

Because just passing tests and meeting psychometric standards doesn't make someone the best candidate for the job. I can think of quite a few people who'd jump through that loop but then have an attitude that would stink during training.

And there could be better candidates out there who could attain higher standards but are now not getting the opportunity to display it.

Speaking to my airline pilot friends, this is definitely another step to pay2drive. They told me Ryanair actually charge pilot applicants an admin fee to apply ! I wonder which TOC/FOC will be the first to do this?

Absolutely spot on mate! Another thing that people have forgotten is that toc’s Are increasingly heading towards “enhanced passes” when it comes to psychometric testing...... I’m sure that won’t be an issue to the OP but worse case scenario he/she could shell out all that money and still effectively be no better off.......this could still obviously be the case by going through a Toc for the testing but at least it’s not cost the applicant a penny.

 

[MostlyHarmless]

The OP's original question was whether those tests were valid with other TOCs and my answer would be to speak to DB Schenker as they will be the only ones that know that I suspect! As for it increasing your chances of actually landing a trainee drivers job, it seems to be open to debate, with an awful lot of speculation on here about what HR will or won't be looking for and something that none of us really know the answer to.

What I do agree with is that getting past the paper sift is probably the hardest bit and so spending time on that is critical, although even then it can be a little bit of a lottery (I submitted almost identical applications to 2 different companies, and got binned on one and through on the other). What makes the application process even harder is that you may not have that much time to complete it as TOCs seem to have a habit of withdrawing the vacancy when then they have enough applicants

My advice would be that if the money and time for assessment isn't an issue AND it is accepted my other TOCs then go for it. However just understand it doesn't guarantee you won't have to sit them and that they have a limited life after which you'll have to redo them if you haven't managed to secure a job

 

[Gemz91]

appears to be around £450 based on their website info

Cheers, just checked it myself before you replied.

Not a chance I would have been able to afford to justify paying that cost on doing a test myself, had I not applied through a TOC. It does worry me that in the future TOC's might take the route of expecting people to put themselves through the assessments before applying, not a chance I'd have ever become a driver if this does become the norm. I never realised how popular a path it was until I read this thread.

 

[Rocket Man]

What if an individuals chosen career path doesn't provide them with the relevant transferable skills required to become a train driver? How do they then fine tune their application to put themselves ahead of others in the sift? On my trainee interview I sat next to and spoke to 2, at the time trainee drivers who were applying for the same role that wanted to move back closer to home. There were also multiple guards both internal and external applicants along with emergency service personnel and to this day I am the only train driver I know of that has come from my particular previous career sector, I'm sure there will be others but as yet I haven't met them. If a TOC is looking for people with that kind of background then a lot of folk will unfortunately come up short time and time again through absolutely no fault of their own.

I knew that if I could get past the initial sift then I would be in with an excellent chance, over a period of 10 or so months I had applied for 4 trainee roles and didn't make it past the sift on any occasion. I did the test privately and then applied for the first trainee role that came up, I used the same answers on the application questions nothing different apart from sending them a copy of my pass certificate. 6 weeks after passing the psychometric tests privately I had a job offer. We were told after we had started that there had been just short of 3000 applicants for our positions, I was 1 of a handful of applicants that applied for the role having already attained a pass that's what made me stand out from the rest.

You have an opinion that this route doesn't work, I have experience to say that it does. I didn't want to make a career out of filling in application forms and fine tuning them, being a career applicant doesn't appeal to me but if you're happy spending years visiting stations and knocking on doors fill your boots mate. As for taking a career by the balls, going after it and doing everything you can to put yourself ahead of all other applicants to succeed, well that's exactly what I did.

As others have said there are no guarantees if you go down this route it comes down to you and your own ability to be able to firstly pass the tests, but from personal experience I have only ever heard success stories. There are career applicants on here that were applying before I had attempted my first application and some are still applying now, if I had to start it all over again would I do it this way? Every single time, however this is just my opinion based on my own experiences everyone who has been able to secure a driver role will say they did it the best way that suited them. You do what you believe is right for you.

 

[SkinnyDave]

I done it and was best investment I ever made!
When I was doing them, I was in with a large group who were being assessed for Northern at the time and at end there were only two of us left...

 

[red2005]

Cheers, just checked it myself before you replied.

Not a chance I would have been able to afford to justify paying that cost on doing a test myself, had I not applied through a TOC. It does worry me that in the future TOC's might take the route of expecting people to put themselves through the assessments before applying, not a chance I'd have ever become a driver if this does become the norm. I never realised how popular a path it was until I read this thread.

It’s certainly a lot of money for no guarantees mate I’ll give you that!

Yes it’s extremely popular mate there’s a few threads on here that give information on how many applicants per job there are. So on one hand I can clearly see why people would want to go down this route....... but on the other hand I just don’t think it gives the advantage some say it does especially at the sift stage.

Even if they do go down the route of paying to drive there would still be ridiculous amounts of testing as well as competition so it wouldn’t really change much on that score as there’s always some loon with too much cash on the hip.

Yes some have made it to the driver grade having done it this way but I’d say it was more about the rest of the application than this one tiny bit anyway.

Save your money mate.

 

[Gemz91]

It’s certainly a lot of money for no guarantees mate I’ll give you that!

Yes it’s extremely popular mate there’s a few threads on here that give information on how many applicants per job there are. So on one hand I can clearly see why people would want to go down this route....... but on the other hand I just don’t think it gives the advantage some say it does especially at the sift stage.

Even if they do go down the route of paying to drive there would still be ridiculous amounts of testing as well as competition so it wouldn’t really change much on that score as there’s always some loon with too much cash on the hip.

Yes some have made it to the driver grade having done it this way but I’d say it was more about the rest of the application than this one tiny bit anyway.

Save your money mate.

I saved my money and did it through a TOC 4 years ago having failed on the first attempt 2 years previous to that. I was gutted when I failed the first time, I'd have be even more gutted if I'd have aid almost £500 for the pleasure of failing the test! Not aware of anyone at my depot who paid for the test themselves.

 

[red2005]

When I did it years ago it was on offer for £150 so wasn’t too bad. Managed to pass it but for all the good it did me I may as well have used the certificate as toilet roll.

if you’ve got the usual barriers on an application such as the need to relocate a long distance for example you’ll still only be on par at best with someone who hasn’t took the tests yet lives on the doorstep..... this probably only makes an application look attractive once your application has ticked all the boxes of higher priorities anyway.

As I say mate, if someone has money to burn and accepts there’s no guarantees of getting through the sift and even if you do you may have to take them again then go for it....... but on the flip side if someone knows and accepts those things I can’t imagine for the life of me why they’d wanna pay to do them anyway?

Yeah I know from experience how gutting it is to walk away from the assessments unsuccessful, it’s not nice especially when you know you only get 2 cracks at it..... but perseverance is the key mate honestly!...... just get the research on here of how the tests work etc and only go for them when you truly feel ready.

You will get there I’m sure! There are plenty of guys n gals on here that can help! I wish you the very best of luck

 

[Smurf]

Bit of a dig up from a few weeks ago, but are DB still offering this assessment day product?

I can’t seem to find it on their website at present.

Are there any other TOCs or other OPC assessment providers out there if they’ve stopped this?

 

[red2005]

I’ve only ever heard of DB doing it.

 

[Smurf]

Bugger, it seems to be removed from the website, the page I’m looking for seems to be unavailable, although I’m on holiday in Mexico right now so it maybe an internet issue here.

I’ll see about dropping them an email when I’m back to see if it’s still a self funded option.

I guess if they have stopped doing it (privately), and no other TOC or other assessment centre offers the service it’s no longer an option.

 

[Jaytrains]

Hi if I pay to do a private driver assesement as provided by DB Schenker do Northern and/or other TOCs accept the results from these if you pass them? Cheers

Following my research i think its the best option to be honest

 

[GJL9916]

Reading this I will definitely consider paying for the tests privately if this is still an option? as I was led to believe DB stopped doing it? Can anyone recommend another company to try?

Also I have enhanced pass for all of stage 1 except for the group bourdon so do you think I would be able to just do the group bourdon and then move onto stage 2?