South West Trains advertising for trainee train drivers for Staines, Waterloo and Wim

[Jimbo12345]

Anyone know the pass mark for the bourdon...enhanced or national standard?

 

[Thomas choo]

Has anyone had a DMI since the franchise was awarded to First/MTR? I'm just wondering what the implications of the new tender have on the ongoing recruitment drive? I'm due for a DMI next week but with the future transfer of the franchise from stagecoach to First/MTR I'm just wondering where my application stands. I haven't been informed of anything further from HR since the initial interview invite so am assuming there are no implications on the existing recruitment drive.

However, I'm just concerned about taking a job (if I was to pass the interview, of course) only to be told I'm surplus to requirement when the new owners come in.

Any information would be much appreciated.

Thank you

Evening, I had my interview just before the announcement of the take over was made and was told it would have no effect to them needing drivers. Saying that though I'm still awaiting a medical date and was told they would be in contact once the announcement had been made and they knew the details. I think I'll wait a little longer before making contact.

Good luck with your interview, keep us posted to how it goes and if you get any other info on the day could you please share?

Thanks in advance

 

[Thomas choo]

Anyone know the pass mark for the bourdon...enhanced or national standard?

I'm not sure how south West operate their standards but I'm sure someone else will be able to help out.

 

[SheikG]

Deleted

 

[Thomas choo]

Thank you, I will let you know if am told anything further during interview. Can I ask what depot you were interviewed for and what is the start date you were given? Congratulations on passing the interview!

Thanks i was over the moon to receive the good news. I am down for staines and I haven't actually been given a start date which makes it all that much worse. What depot are you going for?

 

[Lasbrisas]

Thanks i was over the moon to receive the good news. I am down for staines and I haven't actually been given a start date which makes it all that much worse. What depot are you going for?

I see you have been allocated Staines, can I ask you when you applied originally.

 

[jballz72]

I to have applied for the Staines position, which has changed from " open" to "in process", rang HR to gain any info on driver positions, the lady I spoke to was as useful as a chocolate fire guard and gained nothing from the conversation, so not sure were we stand at the moment, maybe SheikG can shed some light after the interview.

 

[SheikG]

Deleted

 

[dctraindriver]

I to have applied for the Staines position, which has changed from " open" to "in process", rang HR to gain any info on driver positions, the lady I spoke to was as useful as a chocolate fire guard and gained nothing from the conversation, so not sure were we stand at the moment, maybe SheikG can shed some light after the interview.

That woman could turn out to be the one that gives you the good news that maybe you've got the job so maybe a bit more respect is called for?

Remember things are changing with First taking over so no wonder she can't say what's happening.

 

[zoo]

I have a driver interview coming up...but I am confused by the process. The letter doesn't state if it is a DMI or a competency based interview or are TOCs no longer doing 2 interviews??

I have decided to research the company, routes and think of answers to questions on dealing with lone working etc....am I going down the right track...great to get your views??

Cheers

 

[jballz72]

Deleted

 

[TimmyJ20]

I have a driver interview coming up...but I am confused by the process. The letter doesn't state if it is a DMI or a competency based interview or are TOCs no longer doing 2 interviews??

I have decided to research the company, routes and think of answers to questions on dealing with lone working etc....am I going down the right track...great to get your views??

Cheers

This will be the driver manager interview, MMI comes after this if successful. All TOCs do both interviews.

 

[Al8oy]

Hi all, I've passed all assessments and had DMI 6 weeks ago. I'm still waiting for a date for MMI. Anybody else in the same boat? I appreciate that there is change happening due to the upcoming franchise change but the waiting is killing me.

 

[jballz72]

Received an email inviting me for an assessment, so things must be up and moving again at SWT, might be worth some of you guys on here further down the process maybe contacting HR to see where you are with your mmi & dmi.

 

[jballz72]

Evening guys, I have an up and coming assessment soon, do you get marked down on the ATAVT perception test for incorrect answers, also Trp 2 cable and dials is it similar to the practice material they send out, any helpful hints and tips would be most welcome.

Many thanks J

 

[rakoczigabi]

Hi all ,

I'm currently reading through the whole thread and forum and it has loads of information. Also sorry about the long post.

Im kinda new to the railway , only just passed my 1st year. I'm working as a rail operator for SWT and applied to become a mainland driver ( Basingstoke ) back in February this year .

Yesterday I've got a letter inviting me for an assasment day for the 25th of this month. According to that it will take around 5 hours.
I've read it in the forum ( in the man topic How to become a driver ) that others had day 1 and day 2. My letter doesn't mention anything about that, only thing it says if I pass these tests I'll have to attend an interview and an other test.
Someone mentioned there it's better if I ask it here , because this thread just about SWT.

The below tests will be done :
1 , Trainability for Rules and procedures
2 , Tea OCC paper test
3 , ATAVT
4 , The 2hand coordination test
5 , Group Bourdon concentration test
6 , Test of Vigilance ( WAFV )
7 , Written communication test
8 , Colour vision.

I'm not really sure what to expect. I mean I didn't even expect and answer this quick or to get an assessment. Because been told it takes years to get to this stage.

My invitation letter says I'll get the practice material about 7 days before the test. Is it possible to practice in that short notice ?

I will read through this forum and hopefully will see some practice materials.
I had to do some tests to become an RO2 but that wasn't even close to this, this one sounds and looks much tougher.

Also which of these tests are the hardest ?

Thank you

Gabriella

 

[Thomas choo]

Hi all ,

I'm currently reading through the whole thread and forum and it has loads of information. Also sorry about the long post.

Im kinda new to the railway , only just passed my 1st year. I'm working as a rail operator for SWT and applied to become a mainland driver ( Basingstoke ) back in February this year .

Yesterday I've got a letter inviting me for an assasment day for the 25th of this month. According to that it will take around 5 hours.
I've read it in the forum ( in the man topic How to become a driver ) that others had day 1 and day 2. My letter doesn't mention anything about that, only thing it says if I pass these tests I'll have to attend an interview and an other test.
Someone mentioned there it's better if I ask it here , because this thread just about SWT.

The below tests will be done :
1 , Trainability for Rules and procedures
2 , Tea OCC paper test
3 , ATAVT
4 , The 2hand coordination test
5 , Group Bourdon concentration test
6 , Test of Vigilance ( WAFV )
7 , Written communication test
8 , Colour vision.

I'm not really sure what to expect. I mean I didn't even expect and answer this quick or to get an assessment. Because been told it takes years to get to this stage.

My invitation letter says I'll get the practice material about 7 days before the test. Is it possible to practice in that short notice ?

I will read through this forum and hopefully will see some practice materials.
I had to do some tests to become an RO2 but that wasn't even close to this, this one sounds and looks much tougher.

Also which of these tests are the hardest ?

Thank you

Gabriella

Hi gabriella. Firstly congratulations for getting the invite to assessments. I never done my assessments with SWT as I had already passed them with another TOC, but when I had my interview there were a few people doing the assessments and chatting to them they said that they are doing all the tests in the same day so the info you have is correct!!

Regarding practice material, you can find the group bourdon test in this forum I believe it is a sticky thread at the top. If you do a bit of research regarding the other tests there is nothing stopping you from creating your own practice material.
It's hard to say what one would be the toughest as every one has different views on them but I worried about the group bourdon the most. When you do the assessments make sure you know what is expected of you and don't be afraid to ask questions. The day is about you and making sure you pass them so just be relaxed and confident and fully rested.

Hope this helps you, anything else just ask away.

All the best!!!

 

[zoo]

Anyone have tips on the MMI interview etc.....How does it work??

 

[djsmith200]

Evening guys, I have an up and coming assessment soon, do you get marked down on the ATAVT perception test for incorrect answers, also Trp 2 cable and dials is it similar to the practice material they send out, any helpful hints and tips would be most welcome.

Many thanks J

DM me mate

 

[donpoku]

Anyone have tips on the MMI interview etc.....How does it work??

6 Competence Q's of your work/personal experience of examples of how you deal with emergency, concentration, doing a job well under pressure and some others in that mode. Google STAR technique and remember it's all about what YOU did.

Sent from my LG-H850 using Tapatalk

 

[Val3ntine]

Hi all ,

I'm currently reading through the whole thread and forum and it has loads of information. Also sorry about the long post.

Im kinda new to the railway , only just passed my 1st year. I'm working as a rail operator for SWT and applied to become a mainland driver ( Basingstoke ) back in February this year .

Yesterday I've got a letter inviting me for an assasment day for the 25th of this month. According to that it will take around 5 hours.
I've read it in the forum ( in the man topic How to become a driver ) that others had day 1 and day 2. My letter doesn't mention anything about that, only thing it says if I pass these tests I'll have to attend an interview and an other test.
Someone mentioned there it's better if I ask it here , because this thread just about SWT.

The below tests will be done :
1 , Trainability for Rules and procedures
2 , Tea OCC paper test
3 , ATAVT
4 , The 2hand coordination test
5 , Group Bourdon concentration test
6 , Test of Vigilance ( WAFV )
7 , Written communication test
8 , Colour vision.

I'm not really sure what to expect. I mean I didn't even expect and answer this quick or to get an assessment. Because been told it takes years to get to this stage.

My invitation letter says I'll get the practice material about 7 days before the test. Is it possible to practice in that short notice ?

I will read through this forum and hopefully will see some practice materials.
I had to do some tests to become an RO2 but that wasn't even close to this, this one sounds and looks much tougher.

Also which of these tests are the hardest ?

Thank you

Gabriella

How did you get on?

 

[rakoczigabi]

How did you get on?

Hello,

Unfortunately I've failed , passed 7 then failed on the last one the 2hand coordination.
The only thing I couldn't practice for so it was really hard for me to stay within the lines. Also the sticks are really sensitive so sometimes I moved it and hasn't moved then next move it jumped a lot
I do need to practice for that and re try in November. Luckily I only need to take the failed one again.


Just to describe the day for the future applicants.

Started my day at 9.15.
3 guys and I ( only lady ) , all internal candidates.
1 non commercial guard ( passed )
2 RO2 ( my colleague and I ) my colleague passed , I failed
1 Plant mechanic ( he failed as well )

Been called in one by one to check the paperwork and ids. Also done the 1 , Colour vision test.

After all 4 of us were done we went into a room and started the other assessments. Been told that we will do 2-2-3 after each set she'll mark it and let us know who passed and failed.

2, TEA OCC with 3 different parts.
I was really worried about this because wasn't sure how fast they'll play the beeps. But wasn't hard at all. Had a few practice ones before the test.
2nd part of this was going through a phone directory and circle all double characters by the phone numbers ( xx or 00 or ** or squares ). This wasn't hard at all too. Managed to check the whole paper.
3rd part. Listening and counting tones and circles the double symbols on the different phone directory paper. I've found it easier to count the times first then go through the paper in a few seconds. Counted all tones and got through 3/4 of the directory.

3, Bourdon test - practised this a lot on the app and paper. So thanks for whoever made it. Not too sure how many mistake I had but I constantly went through 10 lines. So she could see I was constant. When I practised at home I usually had 0-1 mistakes.

First brake - found the waiting around part the worst. Not knowing if I'll pass or not. 40 mins later the plant mechanic guy

4, trainability for rules and procedures- I think it went well.
Part 1, We had 5 mins to read through and make notes about the article. After that she took the note and article away and we had 18 questions to answer. I've managed to answer all. Making notes was definitely really helpful.
Part 2, Dials - Zone 1-4 and then decide which one to check first then second etc.
Had a few practice one but it was really straight forward. Don't forget to make sure if the arrow is on the same zone in multiple dials you will have to start with the lowest number in the zone. That takes priority. Hope it makes sense.

5, Written communication test. - really straight forward. Few photos telling a story and need to write down what happened. I had to write down mine as a taxi driver. I think we had 5 or 8 minutes. Can't remember. Make sure handwriting is readable otherwise you'll fail.

Break again - another 30 mins waiting around. Luckily all 3 of us passed.

Last 3 tests were on the computer.

6, Grey sqr flashing and suddenly turns black. Needed to press the green button when it turned black. Really boring but also really easy. I don't think I made any mistake. 30 minutes long though.

7, Photo flashes up with a traffic scene for a second. After that will get a list about what we seen ( predestrians , motor vehicle , bike motorbike , traffic light , road sign ). Need to mark what we seen. Multiple options possible. Sometimes all needed to be marked. I can't really remember but I think it was around 15 photos.

8, 2hand coordination test - this was the hardest for me. That's why I think I failed. I couldn't even practice for it , and I'm not a gamer so wasn't lucky at all.
Sticks are really really sensitive !
Left joystick goes left right , Right joystick goes up down.
Had to go through the same route 10 times.
No rush , was able to take my time.

All done then final last break.

After 10 mins I've been called in and been told that I've failed on the last one need to wait till November till I re try that , but all 7 valid for 3 years.

Already found 2 companies who sells the practice test online so I think I'll buy it and practice a lot so I'll pass in November.

Also the lady advised us that we were the last assist group till the new franchise start. They had 7 people on Tuesday and all passed and us today.


When I've been told that I've failed on 1 u was really upset and disappointed but then realised I've done my best and failing on one is not that bad. Was a really long day finished just before 2.
Will practise the 2hand coordination so shouldn't be a problem passing in November.

Spoke with the guys who passed and they don't know nothing about their interviews. But the lady told them they won't make the July training school start so possibly they will start after September if they pass their interviews. So new franchise.

Sorry it's got a bit long but hope it helps If anybody has a question about the assessments just ask here or send me a message and I'll try to help / answer.

 

[SheikG]

Deleted

 

[Val3ntine]

Hello all,

Of those of you who have been offered a position has anyone been contacted regarding a medical/start date? I'm still waiting for Waterloo medical after telephone confirmation from HR that I was successful at interview

Spoke to HR recently I am still awaiting a date for DMI, they arent progressing anything at the moment until they hear more from the new Franchise as they dont know anything about what drivers will be required where and how many etc. Im guessing we'll know more closer to the takeover date either august or september sides.

 

[332 > 444]

Hello all,

Of those of you who have been offered a position has anyone been contacted regarding a medical/start date? I'm still waiting for Waterloo medical after telephone confirmation from HR that I was successful at interview

Congrats on getting a mainline position! When were you due to start GA? Did you get a contract with them yet?