18 year old train drivers?
Discussion
"Doors opened for school leavers to become train drivers
Lowering the train driver age from 20 to 18 will give younger people the chance to build rewarding careers in the UK railway industry."
"There is a lack of diversity within the rail industry, fewer than 4% of train drivers are under 30 and only 11% are women. Less than 13% train drivers are from a minority ethnic background."
Probably just me but I assumed you'd need to be a reasonable age to be allowed to be responsible for 100's of passengers! Same with pilots, bus drivers etc albeit I don't know if there is a minimum age for them ...
TX.
Lowering the train driver age from 20 to 18 will give younger people the chance to build rewarding careers in the UK railway industry."
"There is a lack of diversity within the rail industry, fewer than 4% of train drivers are under 30 and only 11% are women. Less than 13% train drivers are from a minority ethnic background."
Probably just me but I assumed you'd need to be a reasonable age to be allowed to be responsible for 100's of passengers! Same with pilots, bus drivers etc albeit I don't know if there is a minimum age for them ...
TX.
If I was an 18yo woman and fancied a £100k a year career with no qualifications I'd be straight onto LNERs website.
It would be interesting to know how many women apply to fill those 50% of training slots. I'd bet it's something like 1000 to 1 for men and maybe 50 to 1 for women.
I don't have an issue with 18yo's being Drivers. They can be pilots, they can be Army Officers leading 30 men into a firefight.
If they're good enough they're old enough. It's the DEI stuff that grates.
It would be interesting to know how many women apply to fill those 50% of training slots. I'd bet it's something like 1000 to 1 for men and maybe 50 to 1 for women.
I don't have an issue with 18yo's being Drivers. They can be pilots, they can be Army Officers leading 30 men into a firefight.
If they're good enough they're old enough. It's the DEI stuff that grates.
The lack of under 30s, I suspect, is somewhat due to the high pay such a job offers, thanks to aggressive unions (for good or ill), which keeps older drivers in the job.
I thought, based on the thread on here, that it was fairly difficult to get into which suggests there's no shortage of candidates currently?
I thought, based on the thread on here, that it was fairly difficult to get into which suggests there's no shortage of candidates currently?
Terminator X said:
"Doors opened for school leavers to become train drivers
Lowering the train driver age from 20 to 18 will give younger people the chance to build rewarding careers in the UK railway industry."
"There is a lack of diversity within the rail industry, fewer than 4% of train drivers are under 30 and only 11% are women. Less than 13% train drivers are from a minority ethnic background."
Probably just me but I assumed you'd need to be a reasonable age to be allowed to be responsible for 100's of passengers! Same with pilots, bus drivers etc albeit I don't know if there is a minimum age for them ...
TX.
A person can hold a commercial pilot licence at 18 (21 for an airline transport pilot licence), but the logistics and cost of getting one that young is generally prohibitive.Lowering the train driver age from 20 to 18 will give younger people the chance to build rewarding careers in the UK railway industry."
"There is a lack of diversity within the rail industry, fewer than 4% of train drivers are under 30 and only 11% are women. Less than 13% train drivers are from a minority ethnic background."
Probably just me but I assumed you'd need to be a reasonable age to be allowed to be responsible for 100's of passengers! Same with pilots, bus drivers etc albeit I don't know if there is a minimum age for them ...
TX.
Being a commercial bus driver at 18 is legal and realistically achievable.
What is wrong with 18 year olds doing jobs?
RedWhiteMonkey said:
Terminator X said:
"Doors opened for school leavers to become train drivers
Lowering the train driver age from 20 to 18 will give younger people the chance to build rewarding careers in the UK railway industry."
"There is a lack of diversity within the rail industry, fewer than 4% of train drivers are under 30 and only 11% are women. Less than 13% train drivers are from a minority ethnic background."
Probably just me but I assumed you'd need to be a reasonable age to be allowed to be responsible for 100's of passengers! Same with pilots, bus drivers etc albeit I don't know if there is a minimum age for them ...
TX.
A person can hold a commercial pilot licence at 18 (21 for an airline transport pilot licence), but the logistics and cost of getting one that young is generally prohibitive.Lowering the train driver age from 20 to 18 will give younger people the chance to build rewarding careers in the UK railway industry."
"There is a lack of diversity within the rail industry, fewer than 4% of train drivers are under 30 and only 11% are women. Less than 13% train drivers are from a minority ethnic background."
Probably just me but I assumed you'd need to be a reasonable age to be allowed to be responsible for 100's of passengers! Same with pilots, bus drivers etc albeit I don't know if there is a minimum age for them ...
TX.
Being a commercial bus driver at 18 is legal and realistically achievable.
What is wrong with 18 year olds doing jobs?
TX.
Terminator X said:
RedWhiteMonkey said:
Terminator X said:
"Doors opened for school leavers to become train drivers
Lowering the train driver age from 20 to 18 will give younger people the chance to build rewarding careers in the UK railway industry."
"There is a lack of diversity within the rail industry, fewer than 4% of train drivers are under 30 and only 11% are women. Less than 13% train drivers are from a minority ethnic background."
Probably just me but I assumed you'd need to be a reasonable age to be allowed to be responsible for 100's of passengers! Same with pilots, bus drivers etc albeit I don't know if there is a minimum age for them ...
TX.
A person can hold a commercial pilot licence at 18 (21 for an airline transport pilot licence), but the logistics and cost of getting one that young is generally prohibitive.Lowering the train driver age from 20 to 18 will give younger people the chance to build rewarding careers in the UK railway industry."
"There is a lack of diversity within the rail industry, fewer than 4% of train drivers are under 30 and only 11% are women. Less than 13% train drivers are from a minority ethnic background."
Probably just me but I assumed you'd need to be a reasonable age to be allowed to be responsible for 100's of passengers! Same with pilots, bus drivers etc albeit I don't know if there is a minimum age for them ...
TX.
Being a commercial bus driver at 18 is legal and realistically achievable.
What is wrong with 18 year olds doing jobs?
TX.
Who_Goes_Blue said:
Ah there's that diversity word again. The only consideration should be getting the best person for the job.
This. Joe Rogan in one of his stand-up shows talks about hiring the best person for security, and describes who he thinks would fit the description and then hilariously compares it to what happens when the word diversity comes into play.
Personally, I find diversity irrelevant when it comes to my bus driver, airline pilot, train driver, etc. but probably not in the same way some others may see it as irrelevant. For me, if the person is competent and qualified for the job I don't care if they are white, black, purple, ginger, male, female, martian! Overall, iIf someone is trying to better themselves and successfully does that why would anyone be against them? Seems odd to me.
See it at work, they want electronic, mechanical and whatever engineers with various industry experience but welcome minority applicants.
You largely wont get folk with an electronics degree and 30 years in a very specific field, getting anyone is hard and they all tend to be 50 plus white blokes who arent averse to the socks/sandals combo in summer.
You largely wont get folk with an electronics degree and 30 years in a very specific field, getting anyone is hard and they all tend to be 50 plus white blokes who arent averse to the socks/sandals combo in summer.
RedWhiteMonkey said:
Personally, I find diversity irrelevant when it comes to my bus driver, airline pilot, train driver, etc. but probably not in the same way some others may see it as irrelevant. For me, if the person is competent and qualified for the job I don't care if they are white, black, purple, ginger, male, female, martian! Overall, iIf someone is trying to better themselves and successfully does that why would anyone be against them? Seems odd to me.
In a roundabout way, that's the point about diversity. Someone might be employed because of a directive to be diverse, not necessarily because it was the best fit. You might be right in your example though.That said, I was waiting for a train once and the station master (or whatever the title is) announced something but her accent was so strong nobody understood what she said.
Terminator X said:
"Doors opened for school leavers to become train drivers
Lowering the train driver age from 20 to 18 will give younger people the chance to build rewarding careers in the UK railway industry."
"There is a lack of diversity within the rail industry, fewer than 4% of train drivers are under 30 and only 11% are women. Less than 13% train drivers are from a minority ethnic background."
Probably just me but I assumed you'd need to be a reasonable age to be allowed to be responsible for 100's of passengers! Same with pilots, bus drivers etc albeit I don't know if there is a minimum age for them ...
TX.
I've got no issue with the job being open to suitable applicants who are 18 and 19. I do have an issue if people are selected because they are 18 and 19.Lowering the train driver age from 20 to 18 will give younger people the chance to build rewarding careers in the UK railway industry."
"There is a lack of diversity within the rail industry, fewer than 4% of train drivers are under 30 and only 11% are women. Less than 13% train drivers are from a minority ethnic background."
Probably just me but I assumed you'd need to be a reasonable age to be allowed to be responsible for 100's of passengers! Same with pilots, bus drivers etc albeit I don't know if there is a minimum age for them ...
TX.
ChocolateFrog said:
If I was an 18yo woman and fancied a £100k a year career with no qualifications I'd be straight onto LNERs website.
It would be interesting to know how many women apply to fill those 50% of training slots. I'd bet it's something like 1000 to 1 for men and maybe 50 to 1 for women.
I don't have an issue with 18yo's being Drivers. They can be pilots, they can be Army Officers leading 30 men into a firefight.
If they're good enough they're old enough. It's the DEI stuff that grates.
The point is that women and minorities routinely get screened out without consideration to their suitability, therefore without DEI practices we're actually filtering out people who may be best for a job before they get a chance. This is not how meritocracy works and is not a way to guarantee getting the right person for a job.It would be interesting to know how many women apply to fill those 50% of training slots. I'd bet it's something like 1000 to 1 for men and maybe 50 to 1 for women.
I don't have an issue with 18yo's being Drivers. They can be pilots, they can be Army Officers leading 30 men into a firefight.
If they're good enough they're old enough. It's the DEI stuff that grates.
I presume that the International language for train drivers is English. 
( If they can get from A-B without incident... Job done)
NB: In the good 'ol days of steam, it could be a twenty year apprenticeship on the rails.
Therefore, most drivers were 40+.
( If they can get from A-B without incident... Job done)
NB: In the good 'ol days of steam, it could be a twenty year apprenticeship on the rails.
Therefore, most drivers were 40+.
Edited by Milkyway on Tuesday 10th February 10:40
Skodillac said:
The point is that women and minorities routinely get screened out without consideration to their suitability, therefore without DEI practices we're actually filtering out people who may be best for a job before they get a chance. This is not how meritocracy works and is not a way to guarantee getting the right person for a job.
This, DEI encourages us to look at the nature of jobs, can they be adjusted to be more suited to more people. Also, many of us suffer from unconscious bias, e.g. hiring people like us - how can we transform and evolve organisations if we're always hiring 40/50 year old white guys (I'm a 50 yr old white guy). We need more diverse workforce so we get a better range of input/ideas/viewpoints. That is the best person for the role.Hoofy said:
"There is a lack of diversity within the rail industry, fewer than 4% of train drivers are under 30 and only 11% are women. Less than 13% train drivers are from a minority ethnic background."
How does reducing the age limit from 20 to 18 help any of that?
Because you can recruit and train someone who spends 2 extra years working below 30, shifting the metric.How does reducing the age limit from 20 to 18 help any of that?
ozzuk said:
Skodillac said:
The point is that women and minorities routinely get screened out without consideration to their suitability, therefore without DEI practices we're actually filtering out people who may be best for a job before they get a chance. This is not how meritocracy works and is not a way to guarantee getting the right person for a job.
This, DEI encourages us to look at the nature of jobs, can they be adjusted to be more suited to more people. Also, many of us suffer from unconscious bias, e.g. hiring people like us - how can we transform and evolve organisations if we're always hiring 40/50 year old white guys (I'm a 50 yr old white guy). We need more diverse workforce so we get a better range of input/ideas/viewpoints. That is the best person for the role.Like with the air traffic controllers, they didn't change the training and qualification requirements, just made an effort not to discriminate against candidates subconsciously.
Who_Goes_Blue said:
Ah there's that diversity word again. The only consideration should be getting the best person for the job.
If you believe that "being the best person for the job" has nothing to do with ethnicity or whatever diversity factor is being considered, and yet the people who are doing the job are skewed away from the general population, you aren't getting the best people for the job.Gassing Station | Boats, Planes & Trains | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff