regarding private driver assessment course interview

[darrenA]

Hello everyone, best wishes for the new year.
I am considering booking a private driver assessment day, probably with db schenker at Doncaster, although as I live London/Essex border, there may be a nearer one. However, what I want to know is, if I did attend the DB Schenker assessment day and made it to the interview stage, am I supposed to be trying to get a job with DB Schenker, as I am actually interested in C2C. I dont know if the interview is based on someone wanting to join DB or is it based on any TOC.

 

[SteamPower]

The purpose of the interview is to determine your suitability for the role, not your suitability for a specific TOC, if that helps.

 

[A-driver]

I don't know how the mock interview would work but I would think very carefully about paying for the assessments yourself.

I know this debate rears its head quite frequently on here but personally I wouldn't pay for the tests myself. A great number of companies won't consider you any more favourably with the tests and some may even make you sit them again regardless. You arnt actually saving them any time or money by doing it yourself and if you don't get a job within the 2 years then you have wasted money. Plus you risk failing one of your 2 attempts for nothing. I worked in railway hr for a few years recruiting train drivers and we didn't even give any opportunity to say weather you had done the tests yourself and certainly didn't take it into consideration if volunteered by the candidate. I know many hr departments are the same today.

Of course it's up to you but I would suggest thinking very very carefully before parting with your money-if c2c decide to take on trainees they will take into account the cost of testing and that will save you money aswell as give you a higher chance of getting a job.

Good luck however.

 

[spurs4life]

C2c at the moment are not looking for trainees due to being over staffed and with the franchise the way it its their not sure who's going to take over.

 

[bmc1604]

I've enrolled on this course which I,m attending in Feb. After reading the above post I have to say I am unsure!! I failed the visual comparison test for Northern a couple of months ago and I thought this was a good way to go.Can I ask , failing the above test is this held on a national database and if I fail the DB assessment does that mean its game over??

 

[Dave1987]

I've enrolled on this course which I,m attending in Feb. After reading the above post I have to say I am unsure!! I failed the visual comparison test for Northern a couple of months ago and I thought this was a good way to go.Can I ask , failing the above test is this held on a national database and if I fail the DB assessment does that mean its game over??

I think so I'm afraid. You get two attempts at the tests and that is it. Before you take the tests this should be made extremely clear to you and the examiner should give you a chance to say that you don't feel in the right state to give yourself a fair go at it.

 

[A-driver]

Yes-if you fail the tests with DB its exactly the same as failing with any TOC and it will be logged on your record as one of your 2 attempts and will count as one of your fails.

That's why I would be very cautious about paying for this yourself-especially if it dosnt look like your local TOCs will be recruiting within the next couple of years whilst the test is valid.

Best way to go-keep looking at the TOCs websites and apply if a trainee job comes up. That will give you a free chance at the tests and a possible job if you pass. And I don't think you need specific practice at a train driver interview-it's exactly the same as any other job interview so if you feel that is a weak area then I would recommend looking at improving general interview skills rather than looking at passing a train driver Interview specifically.

 

[387star]

I was wondering regarding the private assessment.. is it possible to take parts of it and pass ie everything but the interview? obviously you would have to pass all bits you take for one of your two attempts and have to pass the rest the second time...

given people who have passed certain aspects get to resit only the parts they failed on the second time wouldn't this be fair.. then you wouldn't have the interview pressure.. sounds too good to be true though haha

 

[PeteH]

I don't for sure what other TOCs do, but in the case of FGW they took account of my aptitude test pass. I did not have to attend FGW's assessment day, I attended one interview with FGW and was offered the role.

I have heard (on this forum, I think) that some companies interview candidates twice, but I'm happy to be corrected on this.

Now of course I don't know for sure if a 'non-DBS candidate' attends 2 interviews with FGW, but if so it would imply that FGW do take account of the DBS interview.

 

[455driver]

I have heard (on this forum, I think) that some companies interview candidates twice, but I'm happy to be corrected on this.

Yes some do, the first interview is the CBI and forms part of the assessments, the second is the driver manager interview which does not.

 

[evoluzione]

Yes some do, the first interview is the CBI and forms part of the assessments, the second is the driver manager interview which does not.

Northern do it the opposite way around, Managers Interview before the assessments and final structured interview, I guess it saves them the cost of sending people to the assessments they feel unsuitable.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

I was wondering regarding the private assessment.. is it possible to take parts of it and pass ie everything but the interview? obviously you would have to pass all bits you take for one of your two attempts and have to pass the rest the second time...

given people who have passed certain aspects get to resit only the parts they failed on the second time wouldn't this be fair.. then you wouldn't have the interview pressure.. sounds too good to be true though haha

If you take the assessments with a TOC then you may not get to the final interview, they mark the first two assessments and send home any that have failed to meet the grade without taking any of the other assessments, 4 out 6 in my group where sent home at the first hurdle.

And this continues for the remaining tests, they like to keep the pressure up to see how you cope.

If you take them with DB or other private you do get to do all the tests including interview even if you fail the first one.

One thing to remember the structured interview is the final part of the assessments and must be passed but it's not like a normal job interview, you will not be asked anything about the TOC your applying for, what you can bring to the company? why do you want to work for us? etc

 

[PeteH]

If you take them with DB or other private you do get to do all the tests including interview even if you fail the first one.

I attended DBS in April last year ('12); 2 of the 4 attendees didn't make it through the aptitude tests and were sent home - one had travelled from Edinburgh the other from Kent, both on the morning of the test! The 2 of us who passed had a free lunch followed by the interview.

 

[evoluzione]

I attended DBS in April last year ('12); 2 of the 4 attendees didn't make it through the aptitude tests and were sent home - one had travelled from Edinburgh the other from Kent, both on the morning of the test! The 2 of us who passed had a free lunch followed by the interview.

Did you pay for the test yourself or get sent to DBS by a TOC?

I was told if you pay yourself then they let you take them all, but I could be mistaken.

 

[darrenA]

Thanks for the advise, I do need to rethink wether or not to do the assessment day. Many thanks.

 

[PeteH]

Did you pay for the test yourself or get sent to DBS by a TOC?

I was told if you pay yourself then they let you take them all, but I could be mistaken.

I paid for it myself, to ensure that the driver role was something I was capable of pursuing. Don't know about the chaps who went home early.

 

[Lanc688]

Did you pay for the test yourself or get sent to DBS by a TOC?

I was told if you pay yourself then they let you take them all, but I could be mistaken.

I did the tests in Feb....those who failed the morning tests were not allowed to progress to the reaction (DTG) and CBI in the PM...even tho they had paid to do the tests privately as had the rest of us.

On the "should I do this and will it help" sort of query...I wrote to 2 TOCs after having passed these tests and proudly sent my DBS Pass Certificate with the said letters; I had a phone call the very next day from both of these TOCs offering me an interview place in the future (an interview and not a test, as my DBS test pass was recognised).

I start training with one of these TOCs in the next few weeks and from my experiences would absolutely recommend the very same path to those who ask. Doing these tests in one day leaves no surprises on the day and takes the pressure off immediately afterwards, leaving time to pursue your chosen TOCs.

I guess I was lucky at many a juncture too tho !

Good luck yourselves

Lanc

 

[bmc1604]

Wow! Lanc 688 that's a result!! Well done. I never started this thread but certainly the info passed over has helped me. Can anyone advise me if there is an age cap that TOC's apply? Happy new year to you all

 

[A-driver]

When you say age cap do you mean min or max? You must be 21 to drive a train unsupervised but for the max TOCs will generally recruit up to mid/late 50s-they just need a few years out of you before you retire. Plenty of 50-55 yr old trainees.

As for the argument for and against taking the test privately there will of course be some who are lucky and get jobs with their privately paid for pass but it dosnt mean they wouldn't have got the job without the DB assessments-the poster may also have to the phone call inviting him to the tests with the TOCs. I am just a little sceptical as many TOCs won't recognise them and if you fail or don't get a job within the 2 years then its money down the pan-just not a gamble I'd take when all TOCs are more than happy to pay for the tests themselves with a possible job at the end to.

 

[bmc1604]

Sorry I meant a maximum age cap. Many thanks for all the valuable advice.

 

[Dave1987]

Wow! Lanc 688 that's a result!! Well done. I never started this thread but certainly the info passed over has helped me. Can anyone advise me if there is an age cap that TOC's apply? Happy new year to you all

You have to be 21 or over to be a driver. As others have stated previously I do not see the merit in paying for your own test as you can get it for free if you write a good enough application form, and if you get a border line pass with the private assessments this is usually not good enough for a lot of TOC's. If it was what the TOC's wanted they could save an awful lot of money by asking potential candidates to fund their own assessments and apply once they had passed.

 

[PeteH]

You have to be 21 or over to be a driver. As others have stated previously I do not see the merit in paying for your own test as you can get it for free if you write a good enough application form, and if you get a border line pass with the private assessments this is usually not good enough for a lot of TOC's. If it was what the TOC's wanted they could save an awful lot of money by asking potential candidates to fund their own assessments and apply once they had passed.

With ~400 applicants for each trainee driver position, I'd opine that giving oneself an edge is well worth £145. Whether Lanc688 or I would be in the position we are now is a moot point; I for one have no regrets about doing something off my own back to determine my suitability for the role. If I were a TOC I'd certainly pick someone who'd showed some initiative over an otherwise identical candidate who hadn't.

As to the borderline pass? Can't see where you're coming from here. With DBS one has the opportunity to book well in advance and prepare thoroughly for the day. It's not as though there isn't anywhere on the internet - such as these forums - to get a fairly good clue as to what to expect. The tests are identical to those of other TOCs so one stands just as good a chance of getting an acceptable pass with DBS as anywhere else.

 

[Dave1987]

With ~400 applicants for each trainee driver position, I'd opine that giving oneself an edge is well worth £145. Whether Lanc688 or I would be in the position we are now is a moot point; I for one have no regrets about doing something off my own back to determine my suitability for the role. If I were a TOC I'd certainly pick someone who'd showed some initiative over an otherwise identical candidate who hadn't.

As to the borderline pass? Can't see where you're coming from here. With DBS one has the opportunity to book well in advance and prepare thoroughly for the day. It's not as though there isn't anywhere on the internet - such as these forums - to get a fairly good clue as to what to expect. The tests are identical to those of other TOCs so one stands just as good a chance of getting an acceptable pass with DBS as anywhere else.

Like I said if it was what the TOC wanted they would be saving a lot of money by asking all candidates to fund their own testing. Also different TOC's like to do different tests during the assessments. You may well have been lucky. Like other people have said before each TOC have their own standards on the tests so a pass at DB might not be a pass at a lot of TOC's £145 wasted? How do you know that your application was given the edge by already passing the tests?

 

[A-driver]

No doubt there are many applicants who have paid for the test themselves and then gone on to get a job with the pass. But TOCs dont actively look for that and it may also be coincidence as they may have got the job even without the private test-the only real benifit is that they can get you interviewed/medical/start date a few weeks sooner than if they sent you for the tests themselves. As TOCs send hundreds of people for testing every year saving the odd hundred quid on you isnt going to be a big deal to them. And I know what you mean by showing initiative by doing the tests yourself but TOCs dont see things that way - they get so many applicants for every driver job that half of them arnt even looked at regardless of if they have done the tests or not.

My main problem with paying for them privately is (as I said before) that you are paying a fairly considerable amount of money to possibly fail one of your 2 attempts and even if you pass its onl valid for 2 years so if a TOC near you dosnt recruit in that time, or if they do and they dont offer you a job, then its wasted money and combined with the fact that TOCs have no problem sending you for the tests when you apply (and they will be expecting to have to and have budgeted for that) it dosnt seem like much of an advantage over anyone else.

I just see it as a bit of a con that DB offer this.

 

[PeteH]

Other than getting someone from a TOC's recruiting department to comment on the validity, or otherwise, of DBS's private driver assessment day I think any further comments on either side of the discussion are largely going to be wasted.

All I can say is that for Lanc688 and myself our chosen method of getting the job we desired worked out perfectly.

 

[A-driver]

I know that it has worked out for people but I am saying that it should be something you think very carefully about before paying for.

And I worked in railway HR recruiting train drivers for a number of years before becoming a driver and still go drinking with my ex collegues who still work in recruitment so I do have a fair idea of what I am talking about in this.

 

[Beveridges]

I am another one who did the tests privately and got a job out of it. I remember my Interview being very average with nothing really that good about it, until I told them I'd already passed the psycho tests. That was just about the only thing that made them impressed, so can assume thats what got me the job.
Other advantages of private psycho tests include being able to book a set date which can be several weeks in advanced giving yourself plenty of time to prepare for it. I've heard the stories of TOC's sending people into psycho tests with only 1 or 2 days notice so going in ill prepared. I've heard of someone going to the assessment centre straight after a night shift as thats the date he was given. If you just let the TOC chose your assessment date the chances are it could be one that is extremely unsuitable.

 

[Lanc688]

I am another one who did the tests privately and got a job out of it. I remember my Interview being very average with nothing really that good about it, until I told them I'd already passed the psycho tests. That was just about the only thing that made them impressed, so can assume thats what got me the job.
Other advantages of private psycho tests include being able to book a set date which can be several weeks in advanced giving yourself plenty of time to prepare for it. I've heard the stories of TOC's sending people into psycho tests with only 1 or 2 days notice so going in ill prepared. I've heard of someone going to the assessment centre straight after a night shift as thats the date he was given. If you just let the TOC chose your assessment date the chances are it could be one that is extremely unsuitable.

Well said, by both Beveridges and also Pete.....Although biased as I have managed to secure a job through my chosen route....I just can't see that controlling your own destiny by carrying out the DBS test privately, as anything but complete and utter common sense.

That said, I respect the opinion of others and can see that not all agree ! The world would certainly be a dull place if we all agreed all of the time

Regards
Lanc

 

[WannabeTD]

In my situation i would agree with Lanc and Pete on this one. If you do the tests privately at DBS then you would do the full complement of tests. This eliminates the risk of you taking the tests with one TOC and then applying to another TOC who require an additional test as happened to me. This has left me in limbo and having to wait until my six months is up before i take the tests again, even though I passed all the elements i sat. With hindsight I wouldve paid the money to take the tests privately to guarantee i had the full compliment in the bank.

 

[Dave1987]

Like I've said repeatedly if TOC's saw an applicant as favourable because they have already done the tests they would just save money by telling applicants to get their test done before applying. Like A-driver has what happens if your local TOC doesn't recruit for a few years or you don't pass the interviews then you have wasted your money. Don't see how doing the tests yourself shows more initiative when the trainee adverts state the TOC will put you through the tests? You still have to pass the paper sift of your application. Anyway each to their own.

 

[455driver]

This eliminates the risk of you taking the tests with one TOC and then applying to another TOC who require an additional test as happened to me. This has left me in limbo and having to wait until my six months is up before i take the tests again, even though I passed all the elements i sat. With hindsight I wouldve paid the money to take the tests privately to guarantee i had the full compliment in the bank.

You only have to wait 6 months if you FAIL the tests, as you have not failed any of the parts you have taken the other TOC can simply make you do the other bits of the tests they need, there was a bloke on my course who passed with another TOC and then sat the extra bits for my TOC about 2 months after sitting the rest of it.