Which TOCs accept the DB Schenker private driver assesment?

[Aivilo]

Why pay when you can do them for free

 

[feaky4]

Hello


Can anyone advise where and how to book private train driver assessments. Any idea about cost??
Regards

As far as I'm aware no ones doing any thing at the moment they seemed to stopped doing it last year it was only 1 company. If you look back up a couple replys some one mentioned that they emailed the company and they where put on an email list and that's if they are going to do them again and the price was £375 at the time they where doing them a year or so ago

 

[feaky4]

Why pay when you can do them for free

Unfortunately not every one gets the chance to do them for free I have applied what 6 times at least and not passes the sift I know it's not a guarantee but iv seen alot more positive then negative comments about it and I will deffo be the first person to sign up if they come back dont care how much money itll cost

 

[4F89]

Unfortunately not every one gets the chance to do them for free I have applied what 6 times at least and not passes the sift I know it's not a guarantee but iv seen alot more positive then negative comments about it and I will deffo be the first person to sign up if they come back dont care how much money itll cost

If that is how you want to phrase it, I'd suggest that you may fail the attitude test. 90% of getting in successfully is being prepared to wait. You need a lot of patience to be a driver.

 

[Aivilo]

Sadly if you've been unsuccessful so far you need to look at your approach and having the tests won't make you anymore desirable

 

[C001]

there is a massive waiting list for people that want to do the test private (dB at Doncaster) I was down 6 months ago taking the test (passed it using blood sweat and tears) and I’m starting trainee driver in 3 weeks, I did ask about it and the assessment people were saying private tests are the back of the queue as they do the test for other companies as well as dB ... so I wouldn’t hold your breath for taking the test anytime soon privately, I do agree it does give some of a advantage at getting a trainee drivers job, as I’m currently in the railway and seen loads of people do it .. If u really want a drivers job apply for any job you can in the railway trainee drivers, catering , guard .. anything to get you in the door, trainee drivers jobs are advertised internally far more than they are externally .

 

[Red1980]

Unfortunately not every one gets the chance to do them for free I have applied what 6 times at least and not passes the sift I know it's not a guarantee but iv seen alot more positive then negative comments about it and I will deffo be the first person to sign up if they come back dont care how much money itll cost

With all due respect I'd say not making it through a paper sift 6 times tells a story. Instead of wasting money on doing tests privately you need to be getting someone on the railway or someone with experience with application forms to have a look at your application as to me that's where the issue lies.

Having done these tests privately certainly won't be a defining factor in you making it through paper sifts...(trust me I'm talking from experience)....there's 101 things they look for in an application before a test pass becomes relevant....anyone can pass a test..even people unsuitable for the job so there's more that they'd want from you in an application than a test pass......even the person above who says their pass gave them an advantage (debatable) would have needed an excellent application to accompany it. I'm far from an expert but I'm pretty sure someone not making it through a sift 6 times respectfully needs more than a test pass on the application to make it through.

Having a test pass in the bank is more of a luxury psychology than it is in any way a guarantee. The chances are that even with a private pass in the bank they'd actually make you re-take it anyway. Have you taken the time to go through your application after each knock back to see where you've gone wrong? Or simply re-submitted the same application?

My advice to you is not waste your money on things that aren't a guarantees like passing tests and other things beyond your control and focus on things you are in control of...... Like an amazing application as that's what gets people through sifts.

 

[feaky4]

I'm pretty confident in my application the current job that im in I feel transfers over pretty well i have done so many and all different. I get people to look over to help with grammar and spelling ect I dont feel like it can improve. I'm put forward to go onto a managers course and after that I think I might complete my level 3 so maybe another 3+ years and I will have a better chance? Just hope they dont read my job title and bin me before even looking. I have applied for a conductor role so see if I get any further in that

 

[Red1980]

I'm pretty confident in my application the current job that im in I feel transfers over pretty well i have done so many and all different. I get people to look over to help with grammar and spelling ect I dont feel like it can improve. I'm put forward to go onto a managers course and after that I think I might complete my level 3 so maybe another 3+ years and I will have a better chance? Just hope they dont read my job title and bin me before even looking. I have applied for a conductor role so see if I get any further in that

I wish you the very best of luck. But I will say that there's always room to improve an application even after you've been successful.

The reason I say that is because it's not just about the content.....yes you could have plenty of transferable skills but it's your job to show them how it's transferable and how you as an individual will put those skills into practice.

Content only gets you so far it's how you communicate and put across that content that's key. For example there's been many people from fantastic backgrounds such as Pilots, military personell emergency services personell etc etc etc who all have fantastic things to put on application forms and all have transferable skills yet still don't make it through a sift.

Honestly mate the worst thing you can do is say it can't be improved....in this case it can as you've come up short 6 times.....there's definitely a reason for that.....the main one being other people obviously have better applications at this point.... remember in application forms small things make huge differences, especially when you're up against the competition numbers wise that you are here.

I'd say get someone who's already employed on the railway or been through the process recently to have a look at it....like I said small things make big differences and if you truly believe you cannot improve it then it may be that you've missed some of the key buzz words that's needed to get you through....only someone on the railway now or previously know those.

I wouldn't go for a conductor role until that application is top notch mate! The conductor role is very safety critical and TOCs look for the same level of application quality wise for conductor as they do driver.

 

[Mgv1349]

what is your current job? I did a level 3 management course with my previous employer and felt that was good to get on my CV.

 

[feaky4]

what is your current job? I did a level 3 management course with my previous employer and felt that was good to get on my CV.

I'm a pharmacy advisor trained to level 2 level 3 gets me to tech then on to act wich is like a step down from pharmacist its classed as one of if not the hardest nvq to do. And I'm already on the list to do management.

 

[feaky4]

I wish you the very best of luck. But I will say that there's always room to improve an application even after you've been successful.

The reason I say that is because it's not just about the content.....yes you could have plenty of transferable skills but it's your job to show them how it's transferable and how you as an individual will put those skills into practice.

Content only gets you so far it's how you communicate and put across that content that's key. For example there's been many people from fantastic backgrounds such as Pilots, military personell emergency services personell etc etc etc who all have fantastic things to put on application forms and all have transferable skills yet still don't make it through a sift.

Honestly mate the worst thing you can do is say it can't be improved....in this case it can as you've come up short 6 times.....there's definitely a reason for that.....the main one being other people obviously have better applications at this point.... remember in application forms small things make huge differences, especially when you're up against the competition numbers wise that you are here.

I'd say get someone who's already employed on the railway or been through the process recently to have a look at it....like I said small things make big differences and if you truly believe you cannot improve it then it may be that you've missed some of the key buzz words that's needed to get you through....only someone on the railway now or previously know those.

I wouldn't go for a conductor role until that application is top notch mate! The conductor role is very safety critical and TOCs look for the same level of application quality wise for conductor as they do driver.

Oh yes what I mean is theres nothing I my self can improve on my cv it's the best I can do I cant do any thing more but I do give good examples of what is transferable and why. Only other way I can try is starting at conductor or any other position but I think conductors the best start and see where it takes me but that its selfs just as hard

 

[Red1980]

Oh yes what I mean is theres nothing I my self can improve on my cv it's the best I can do I cant do any thing more but I do give good examples of what is transferable and why. Only other way I can try is starting at conductor or any other position but I think conductors the best start and see where it takes me but that its selfs just as hard

Yes I see what you mean but as we both admit the CV needs to be perfect even if you go for a conductor role.

What does your CV look like presentation wise? Is it something that's going to catch the eye presentation wise? Or is it basically a blank piece of paper with sentences on it? Like I say small things make huge differences. If they can see you've made an effort to make your CV look different to that of thousands of others applying you're off to a great start.

There's hundreds of templates out there now to make your CV look really attractive.

 

[feaky4]

Yes I see what you mean but as we both admit the CV needs to be perfect even if you go for a conductor role.

What does your CV look like presentation wise? Is it something that's going to catch the eye presentation wise? Or is it basically a blank piece of paper with sentences on it? Like I say small things make huge differences. If they can see you've made an effort to make your CV look different to that of thousands of others applying you're off to a great start.

There's hundreds of templates out there now to make your CV look really attractive.

With northern I get through to the online assessment very time but it's to hard for me i always fail it so iv given up. TPE seem abit different so I hope i get further and now iv seen driver jobs going at york and hull so I will be doing that when I get back later. With the cv I think it looks good my bro used to help people with the cv and my friends english teacher helped me as well as looking at templates online I use big posh juicy words I dont use phrases like "I had to" and things like that. The problem is so many people go for these jobs they can be as picky as they want and tbh no matter how good it is if some one from other backgrounds apply with just as good cvs they will get it over me

 

[Sammy2019]

I failed to get past the papersift on several occassions but was successful for a few company’s recently. As others have said rail company’s are looking for very specific qualities and normally have hundreds of candidates applying for each role. I would focus more on your experience and trying to adapt your cv/application form to suit these qualities. There’s plenty of info on this forum.

 

[Red1980]

With northern I get through to the online assessment very time but it's to hard for me i always fail it so iv given up. TPE seem abit different so I hope i get further and now iv seen driver jobs going at york and hull so I will be doing that when I get back later. With the cv I think it looks good my bro used to help people with the cv and my friends english teacher helped me as well as looking at templates online I use big posh juicy words I dont use phrases like "I had to" and things like that. The problem is so many people go for these jobs they can be as picky as they want and tbh no matter how good it is if some one from other backgrounds apply with just as good cvs they will get it over me

Have you done any research on what's expected of you with the online assessments? There's very often a nack to these things and I'm sure there's plenty on here that could help so NEVER give up!

If you give up you'll always be asking yourself whether you actually deserve the job or not. Most people applying for driving jobs have to persevere when it comes to actually getting the job.....it's not an easy/nice process wherever you apply so I really wouldn't expect the likes of TPE to be any easier.

Backgrounds make very little difference. A good CV, a decent person, someone who's safe and reliable and worked worked hard throughout the assessments will generally get the job.

 

[feaky4]

Have you done any research on what's expected of you with the online assessments? There's very often a nack to these things and I'm sure there's plenty on here that could help so NEVER give up!

If you give up you'll always be asking yourself whether you actually deserve the job or not. Most people applying for driving jobs have to persevere when it comes to actually getting the job.....it's not an easy/nice process wherever you apply so I really wouldn't expect the likes of TPE to be any easier.

Backgrounds make very little difference. A good CV, a decent person, someone who's safe and reliable and worked worked hard throughout the assessments will generally get the job.

With northern conductor iv done them 3 times but the maths one is way to hard and for driver there doesn't seem to be one. The problem is my reluctlentless to give up has possibly cost me positions in my current job if put off my level 3 tec course alot and you can only mentally get so many rejections before you snap yeah it's really not easy but with TPE they seem better I did my conductor app and the online test is better and easier and last night applied for a driver and again that was really easy they dont ask questions either or ask for a cv or cover letter. I agree to an extent with the last part but they can pick who they want so many people from different backgrounds apply and if we all have very close apps they can just say well I'd rather ex army then a pharmacy worker wich any one would

 

[Red1980]

With northern conductor iv done them 3 times but the maths one is way to hard and for driver there doesn't seem to be one. The problem is my reluctlentless to give up has possibly cost me positions in my current job if put off my level 3 tec course alot and you can only mentally get so many rejections before you snap yeah it's really not easy but with TPE they seem better I did my conductor app and the online test is better and easier and last night applied for a driver and again that was really easy they dont ask questions either or ask for a cv or cover letter. I agree to an extent with the last part but they can pick who they want so many people from different backgrounds apply and if we all have very close apps they can just say well I'd rather ex army then a pharmacy worker wich any one would

Unfortunately rejections are part and parcel of trying to get to the driver grade mate. You have to not take it personally it's just what happens with popular positions where thousands apply.

That's testing unfortunately.....at some point you will come across part of a TPE assessment which you feel isn't your strong point....when I went with them I thought I'd aced it and then they brought the fault finding test and I was average at best at it. There's not a TOC assessment out there that's easy for everyone.

Nah you're wrong there mate.....like I said earlier it's not about what you put on the form it's how you make it relative to the position you're applying to and whether you're actually suitable to the role......using your example of the pharmacy here.....I bet they have to use amazing amounts of communication skills and have to work to loads of rules and regulations.....doesn't matter if you're a pilot or a roadsweeper if you get the application right, do your research and Excell throughout the assessment process you'll get the job......that's the beauty of the process.

You only have to look at the people on this forum who whinge because they have been turned down and think it's a travesty because they've got degrees coming out of their ears!..... It's not always about what you've done in the past or what your qualifications are (although it helps) it's how you can prove that you're the right PERSON for the job.