East Midlands Railway (EMR)
Join East Midlands Railway as a Trainee Depot Driver
Please note the minimum age requirement to apply for this role is 21 and you MUST live within 45 minutes of either Nottingham or Derby station.
About Us
We are proud to be One Team at East Midlands Railway (EMR). We are passionate about keeping people safe, delighting our customers, doing the right thing and putting customers at the heart of our sustainable railway for the East Midlands. With over 2,400 employees, our people are the reason we are so successful, and the Driver team make a crucial contribution to this. Nine times accredited as a Top Employer, we value our people and are dedicated to making sure that everybody feels empowered to bring their authentic self to work.
Diversity and Inclusion
At EMR we want to proactively embrace diversity across our workforce and recognise that we are under-represented in terms of females and ethnic minority groups. We’re therefore taking positive steps to promote a positive and inclusive culture; we welcome applications from those that identify with these groups to better represent our communities.
Trainee Depot Driver Role
We’re now recruiting for Trainee Depot Drivers to join us for our Nottingham and Derby depots! At East Midlands Railway, we are passionate about providing our people with the opportunity for continuing professional development. As part of this commitment, we have played a leading role in the development of the national Train Driver level 3 apprenticeship standard, which was published in June 2018 by the Institute of Apprenticeships. Our Trainee Driver programme has been designed to meet the requirements of the new level 3 standard and as a result you will be automatically enrolled on the apprenticeship when you join the Company.
Your Responsibilities
As part of the Depot Driver team you will be responsible for moving our trains around the Depots. You’ll be responsible for Depot driving, shunting, light maintenance and other tasks such as fault finding and reporting. Ensuring you keep people safe, you will be trained in and follow the rules and production requirements of East Midlands Railway. You will also be responsible for checking that the train environment is up to our market leading standards.
Work Schedule
As a Trainee Depot Driver you will be required to work 37 hours per week, predominantly afternoons and night shifts across the 7 days of the week, with a minimum of 12 hours rest between shifts. Natural progression in this role is to become the Mainline Drivers of the future!
What We Expect
This is an exciting opportunity to begin a fulfilling career with East Midlands Railway. Successful candidates will need to be responsible and committed to providing excellent service through efficiency, high standards, and most of all, safety. Excellent communication skills are an essential attribute for Depot Drivers to ensure you are able to work closely with the team around you. You do not require any previous qualifications, but in order to achieve the apprenticeship, you will need to hold a GCSE grade C or above or equivalent in Maths and English. Support in gaining these can be provided if necessary.
Recruitment Process
You will be expected to undergo 4 stages of assessment as part of the recruitment process, which include OPC national driver testing, as well as successful completion of a driver medical screening if you are successful through the process.
The first stage of assessments dates are:
- Stage 1 – Driver testing part 1: Between 1st April – 11th April 2025
- Stage 2 – Assessment Days: Week commencing 12th May – 16th May 2025
- Stage 3 – Competency based interview: Week commencing 2nd June – 13th June 2025
- Stage 4 – Driver testing part 2: Between 24th June – 4th July 2025
Please note further testing will take place throughout 2025 in order to ensure all those successful at application stage are assessed. The dates provided above may also be subject to change.
Training courses will commence at a number of dates throughout 2025 and 2026. If successful you will be placed into a Talent Pool and offered a role when opportunities become available. The apprenticeship scheme is a year-long qualification and you will train alongside other successful applicants at our Training Academy based in Derby.
What’s in it for You?
Well, as well as a competitive salary, we’ll also offer you a wide range of benefits including an excellent Railway Pension Scheme, free train travel on East Midlands Railway, LNER, and other TOCs under Transport UK Group. You will also receive subsidised travel with all other operators. We also offer staff retail discounts through our employee ‘Hapi’ app.
Ready to Apply?
Ready to take on this exciting opportunity? Submit your online application form and upload your CV. As we operate a blind screening process, please remove all personal information including your name from your CV.
To apply for this job please visit jobs.eastmidlandsrailway.co.uk.
