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Old 10th December 2012, 20:48
Beeyar Wunby's Avatar
Beeyar Wunby Beeyar Wunby is offline  
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Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: NW Norfolk
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Quote:
Originally Posted by avonside1563 View Post
Or alternatively how I can get a job as a driver to replace those leaving!!
Best place would be to watch this space......https://www.londonmidlandcareers.com (although this url caused my Avast to issue a warning )

There's more to this shortage than just people chasing more money. I'm not saying this is necessarily the case with LM, but some TOCs are really awful to work for, eg heavy-handed management, soul destroying & repetitive work, or physically uncomfortable traction, etc.

You should also realise that the easiest drivers jobs to get into are usually the worst. It's a pyramid with suburban work at the bottom, and intercity at the top. So there's always going to be a number of ambitious drivers who want to progress to the top notch jobs, and this is often done by hopping from company to company.

Most TOCs & FOCs are running with vacancies in the roster at the moment. Training new drivers is expensive and time consuming (approximately a year from recruiting a trainee to them becoming productive) and it's always cheaper to pay existing drivers to work overtime on their Rest Days. With the recession biting it's one way of keeping costs down.

However considering the numbers involved here, I suspect that something is significantly amiss. It's interesting to see that LM's website is trying to attract qualified drivers and not trainees. Give it time - that may have to change.

Last edited by Beeyar Wunby; 12th December 2012 at 20:54. Reason: add detail
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