Well exactly this. Why would any company in the current climate organise such things do training etc unless it was operationally imperative? For most tocs its most certainly not.
As I and other have pointed out. Recruiting for trainees doesn’t necessarily mean vaccancy. Unfortunately people get the idea that they apply for position and it means they are ready to be taken tommorow. 9/10 times thats isnt the case. Companies will often look ahead at what they think they think they will need based on drivers moving on/progressing/retiring. Most of the depots people have hopes of going to have full compliments already or a few gaps. With the reduction in service across the board nowhere is desperate for drivers. My roster has several vacancies but we get by easily covering with with rest day work. I dont wanna be a debbie downer but im reading several “when when when” posts. They reality is when you apply for such a position in such a climate you need to be prepared to be in it for a the long haul. They will go at whatever pace they feel like, which more often than not is the pace of a snail, even without a pandemic. Dont be suprised if you dont hear anything for extended periods.
As an example, my friend applied for GA 2 years ago, and they sent an assessment 1 year after, which was taken and then went on hold for another year. Still waiting. So dont think having no news is strange/disheartening, you arent alone, however annoying it may seem. When I started 12 years ago was much the same, by the time they got back to me I had started a completely different job and the call to do assessments was completely out of the blue, wasnt even sure if I wanted to go things had moved on so much. The replies will come eventually. Just be patient.
Perhaps TOCs should specify this their adverts. Would save alot of frustration.
So it goes:
