Bus Eireann Heavy Vehicle Mechanics Apprenticeship 2013

Calgary22

I see they are recruiting for apprentices. is anyone on here working with them as an apprentice? could anyone describe the brief role of an apprentice with them is it solely working on bus's? whats the pay/perks like as an apprentice? is there much overtime available etc:D

I applied and just got sent the link to take the aptitude test i have 5 days to take it just wondering has anyone gone through the process before? i am an electrician and served a fair bit of my time as an auto electrician working on ford and cummins engines in heavy duty machines and diggers so hopefully this will benefit me:D

Calgary22

Bump Bump Bump:D

triple-M

heres a link to a thread regarding a previous apprenticeship recruitment drive,perhaps some of the posters there are well into their training by now? might be worth sending a pm to some of them if they are still regular users on boards http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056196485

2Mad2BeMad

took it last year
got to the interview stage

3 people interviewing me

1 girl 2 fellas

girl was asking questions about past experience and work and what else ive done since school
fella asked, why am i interested in becoming a mechanic
he also asked a question ( if you opened up the hood of a car what would you see? )
question changes every year i think or different question for different people so be prepared for a question, look up some basic stuff

and the other fella just writes down stuff, i think hes like a mediator to make sure the people interviewing are giving everyone a fair chance

overall

my experience : i felt uncomfortable , girl was real serious and tryed to catch me out on a few things , was like she was looking for an excuse to get me out of the room which really annoyed me,
the fella was laid back and a nice guy
but i believe she kinda ruined it for me, she kept asking idiotic questions with my jobs, i said i done night shift work as well as evening in the same place, i said i had good customer care and i explained a situation where i gave good customer service
she then turns around and says , " hold on you said you worked night shift work how are you talking to customers when the shop is closed"
to be honest their was no real way to answer this because it sounded smart i said " sorry i probably wasnt clear, i worked evenings as well " THIS WAS CLEARLY WRITTEN ON MY CV which they read over before i came in

their were a few other things
i genuinely just felt uncomfortable since she was kinda trying to make me mess up

i hope shes not here this year because im applying again,

i understand its an interview but the way she went on, was a joke to be honest, i was tempted to just walk out at one point but said id leave it

never got it in the end, i wonder why,
i pretty much named every single part under the hood of the car


have references ready, also school reports ready from past exams including jr cert and leaving cert

and if shes not doing the interviews , id say you'd be in with a good shot
can be pretty nerving if theirs 3 people interviewing you

id say other people have other experiences but that was my one

Calgary22

Thanks so much mate i just completed the online aptitude test there now i am hoping it went ok and that i will get called for an interview. but i suppose time will tell i am at a few other things so hopefully it should keep me busy till then. it says the next stage will not happen till July/ august. i am already a sparks but i suppose i don't want to leave Ireland till i have too so if i got this it would mean 4 years of solid work and would get my papers in a serious trade i served some of my time working on construction plant machinery and doing auto electrics so hopefully this will benefit me.

I was chatting to my mate who's a HGV mechanic apprentice with the esb and he was saying there's no hope of a job when there qualified. is there any chance with bus eireann? and do ya no how many apprentices they take on yearly? when i signed up for it last night my application was at 1200 so i suppose you could say there was 1300 in the end as last night was deadline. thanks again for detailed reply and she sounds like a right nasty person not good style trying to catch you out like that.

niallw123

how long does it take for them ta get back ta ya about the interview after applying

triple-M

niallw123 wrote: »

how long does it take for them ta get back ta ya about the interview after applying

months I-ve heard late summer being mentioned,did you finish the online assessments?

Calgary22

yea i done them just now 3 out of the 4 were ok i found the spational reasoning one hard but hopefully i got through it hopefully i get called for an interview.. it said the next stage would be in July/august so a fair bit away still. anyone know how many they take on a year?:D

massey135man

calgary22 i'm on the same boat. applied last year but the interview was an absolute nightmare. I had 2 lads interviewing me, one was from dublin bus i'd say (by his accent) asking all the questions and the other lad was there just taking notes which was really irritating. He asked me questions about what was my favorite subject in school and why and was I ever involved in any teams and did I interact well with others (industrial relations nonsense) I did get the feeling aswell though that they were trying to make me mess up and make me feel as uncomfortable as possible.

niallw123: to answer ur question I think I was offered an interview by e-mail around the 8th/9th/10th July last year. I presume they leave it til then to assess the aptitude test results and wait for the leaving cert. to finish. They send you out a time table of interview slots spread over two days and you pick which one you want. I don't know will there be this many slots in every station but I applied to Galway and they held 2 days of interviews(around the end of August)

hope this helps some of ye

Calgary22

Thanks for that lads all we can do is weight i guess now:D.. does anyone know roughly of the numbers they take on a year? and is there any hope of a contract at the end of it?:D

f140

are you not guarenteed a job afterwards with bus eireann?

Calgary22

No its just a 4 year apprenticeship i suppose that in itself is a god send i am just finishing off an electrician apprenticeship and its took me over 5 years due to lack of work.
So 4 years on the proper rate would be great and it would be a great apprenticeship with good perks i am sure.I no Irish rail apprentices get free tools and free travel so i would be hoping bus eireann would be the same some of them tools cost a bomb.

That's why i asked was there a chance of a job at the end of it.my mate mate is finishing his apprenticeship with the esb and has been told he wont be getting a job at the end of it or the 5 others. hes a mechanic as well with them.

niallw123

triple-M wrote: »

months I-ve heard late summer being mentioned,did you finish the online assessments?

i did yea they weren't as bad as the esb 1's

Calgary22

yea they were not to bad mate i done them too now just wait till July or august and hope we get called for an interview:D hopefully heading off to canada in June if i get called for an interview i will come home if not i wont:)

2Mad2BeMad

i had to wait a while for the interview

i think i had mine in july? mid july
they sent me an email giving me like a date and with 6 times times on it
i had to select which time suited me most, then they ring you a day or two later to confirm it.

its 4 years guarrenteed work with them, as well as a job afterwards ( i heard, probably will depend on how well you get on in the 4 years )

just remember keep talking , and read over basics off cars and write down an answer why your interested in becoming a mechanic, as that will definitly be a question.

also he asked me did i know how to change a car wheel or any other parts of a car
so if you dont know and you answer you do, he will ask you how you do it, so be carefull not to lie about anything

when it came to a question he asked me that i didnt know how to do it, i got very lick arsed type and said " I dont know how to do that, but i'd hope to learn that here, haha they love the lick arsing so just keep going along with it

Calgary22

Hahah sound lad:D i wonder is it 22 there taking on this year also?:D i would no a few bits about the car just hope i get called:D yea lad i am an electricians its took over 5 years and i still aint qualified fingers crossed i should be in a few weeks.i would no the basics on a car service it brake pads and discs clutches and other things as well. and i would no a fair bit about the auto electrics too. i have a welding and auto electrics course done.

Anyone no what the working day is like? is it all bus's or is there some hidden network of vans i don't no about:D... wonder is the pay good? they hardly give ya a few bob for accommodation if your living away?

Are ya going for it again this year?.

2Mad2BeMad

to be honest
from your background their, id say you'd have a very very good chance hope it doesnt get you too excited but sounds as if you would impress them to be honest

i think its mainly working on buses all day every day haha off course theirs the learning part as well

pay , well you could look that up, i think theirs 4 or 5 phases
by the last phase ( or last year in your apprenticeship) you would probably be coming out with more then 480quid easily
although i dont know if payment has gone down or not but either way im sure it would be a nice lump sum:P

starting pay is pretty low though, like 180 or something

Calgary22

Hahah ah no lad sure we will play it by ear. haha thanks lad i found out some more info:D the pays 186:D yea lad its like the electrical apprenticeship 7 phases phases 2 4 6 are in the coll:D..
You going for it this year?:D i think there is some good perks too like free travel with bus eireann and dub bus and a reduced train fare and also a few other things which is not to bad makes up for the bad wage;)..but sure if there was an odd sat going it would bring the wage up to 250:D.. i dont hold much hope for myself just said i would apply for the craic as i am in a position to this year:D

niallw123

has any1 heard anything back yet ?

SJPK

Havent heard a thing! Wonder how the tests went....

Calgary22

Not a thing lads it will be July at least before we hear something and with the trouble with the company possibly longer.

SJPK

Got an email today saying i was through to the next stage, interviews! (July - August) Wonder what these'll be like, anyone else hear anything yet?

Calgary22

Congrats dude fair play:D not a thing myself anyway dunno if thats a good thing or not lol

SJPK

Thanks, ara you'll be sound they'll prob take a while ta get to everyone.... 'leavin the best til last' :P

Nearly40

Hi, i got the apprenticeship last year in the Ballina garage, i know there was very long gaps between all the stages in getting the emails out and the interview, i applied early on in the year and in about may i got the aptitude test sent to me, i was the rang about after a few weeks (cant remember exactly how long) but i was called into the sligo station to redo one part of the appitude test to prove i did it in the email, after a while again i got called for the interview, there was three lads interviewing me, two lads asking questions and another taking notes throughout the interview, i was asked mainly how interested i am the that line of work, my favorite school subject, do i work well as part of a team, but mostly finding out if i had a good interest in becoming a mechanic, i was the only person taking on in the garage this year, but the year before they toke on two, depends on the size of the garage your applying too.

After the interview i heard nothing for a long time, i had started in college just incase this didn't work out but one day in college i got a call saying i was going to dublin for a medical, i asked what are the chances of me getting the apprenticeship after that and she told me i was the only one heading to do the medical for Ballina and if i passed i got the place, luckily enough i did get accepted, i got a letter in the post telling me to go to Dublin some time around the start of november where i spent a week for an intro and then started in the garage, i am heading to Tallaght in july for phase two where i will spend 20 weeks above.

I am really enjoying the apprenticeship and wish you the best of luck in getting it!!

SJPK

What was the first thing they started you doing, like was it straight into the garage and did you do anything or just 'sweep the floor'?

Nearly40

Ya after your week in Dublin your put straight into your garage and you will be put working along side a mechanic in the garage so your doing whatever there doing, but the will let you work away and supervise your work to make sure it is alright, the work you get to do is far from sweeping the floor though!

natho9512

anyone heard anything about times of interviews yet??

SJPK

natho9512 wrote: »

anyone heard anything about times of interviews yet??

No date or anything at all!! Havent heard anything since last email saying i was through to interview. Galway btw

AG81

SJPK wrote: »

No date or anything at all!! Havent heard anything since last email saying i was through to interview. Galway btw

Hi,

I'm in Dublin. Dont know if it us different here but I had my interview over a month ago and was told I should know by the end of august or so. In saying this I applied last year and had my interview around the same date last year and didn't hear from them until November to say I was unsuccessful. This year I have also applied for and been accepted to college which is due to start in September. I would still take the apprenticeship first if offered.

jamier4efe

Have the interview at 10:30 tomorrow morning. Sounds like a bit of a challenge alright... Any idea how many will be taken on in limerick? That was first choice .. Galway was second. Got an email last Friday or Saturday about the time of the interview. Have no real official time done in a garage.. But I am confident I will have no problems answering questions relating to mechanics.. I have slot of off the books experience.. Is this something I could mention? Would they mind the off the books part?

SJPK

Does anybody have any advice for those doing the interviews in the next few days, like myself ? :-D
Oh and will slacks and a shirt do the job?

AG81

SJPK wrote: »

Does anybody have any advice for those doing the interviews in the next few days, like myself ? :-D
Oh and will slacks and a shirt do the job?

Yeah shirt and slacks should be fine. They just asked me about everything on my cv, hobbies and interests, any experience, why I wanted to be a HGV mechanic etc. All very standard. Just be honest and don't try to bill**** them on anything because they will ask you about any experience with mechanics. One of my interviewers defo knew his stuff. Don't feel like u need to know everything, if u did you wouldn't be looking for an apprenticeship you'd already be working as a mechanic.

Good luck.

sr20man

hi,

i applied for the apprenticeship and did the interview bout 2 weeks ago, but now they want me to go in for a re-test this tuesday, anybody know why they want me to do this or wat the story is wit it ?

thanks

SJPK

I think its just to prove that it was actually you that did the apptitude tests... Hope I get a call back, which station/depot are you applyin for?

sr20man

i tried for limerick, when did u do ur interview ?

SJPK

I did mine about two weeks ago aswell i'd say, in galway...

sr20man

jus after comin back from the re-test , jus a mechanical apptitude test like the first one in the application ting, pretty simple stuff

corkboy10

Any driving jobs with Bus Eireann do any of you know???

SJPK

Just got the letter sayin that i wasnt succesful this time bla bla bla... Nearly feckin cried, thats how much i had my heart set on it

Faith+1

SJPK wrote: »

Just got the letter sayin that i wasnt succesful this time bla bla bla... Nearly feckin cried, thats how much i had my heart set on it

Onwards on upwards my friend. Chin up!

SJPK

Actually hadnt thought past it... oops

sr20man

got accepted for the apprentcieship but have to go to dublin for induction week in the start of november , anybody have an idea wat goes on during the induction week ??

Nearly40

Its just a week to get you sorted with your contract, tell you what's happening over the next 4 years, you will do a manual handling course and just sort out paperwork, very handy week and nice week in jury's inn hotel too , what garage are you starting in?

sr20man

sound for that , thought it was a college ting or somethin ill be in the garage in limerick so tis a bit of a drive to dublin ..

Thecameraman

Hi anyone apply for 2014 apprentiship?

redout

Thecameraman wrote: »

Hi anyone apply for 2014 apprentiship?

It is the same scenario every year. Meet the educational qualifications and then do the online aptitude tests. I think there are 5 or 6 tests. Then there is quite a long wait to find out if you make it to the next stage. Something like several months.

A lot of these positions in the last couple of years are not good in the sense that the company does not give you a job at the end of it and you are basically on your own once finished apprenticeship in four years. Something to consider.

Thecameraman

The interviews are been held in May/ June so wait doesn't seem to be that long this year, how many people do they take on?

christy11

what is the wage like if you do get through for it?

Guy:Incognito

Presumably standard 1st year apprentice rates. Roughly €195.

2Mad2BeMad

not too mention the interview, they want you too mess up (speaking from experience)
had a panel interview me
2 were asking questions 1 was monitoring the interview
the people who were asking questions 1 of them was staring me out of it all interview, don't think she blinked once made me uncomfortable
the other guy was purposly assuming things that I hadn't said in the interview which was wrote on me cv against me, I had too correct him a few times

joke of an interview
joke of a company as well too be honest, I've heard very little job opportunities come out of it at the end of 4 years
seems as if their only doing it because they have too not because they want too

I didn't get the job and too be honest I would of declined the way they were treating me in the interview.
I have a big interest in car's
I could tell you everything underneath the hood of one
and too my luck their final question in the interview was "whats underneath of the hood of a car" I answered it, the guy smiled so I thought I impressed him with my knowledge , instead he mentioned a few things that I didnt say as well as by car he meant a heavy vehicle such as a bus
Am I a bloody mind reader? if he wanted me too answer what was underneath the hood of a bus he should of said so, he said "car" I answered (I practically mentioned everything) and he goes out of his way to mention one or two things I forgot to say? and smiles about it? they wanted to me too fail the interview that much was clear
and I hope for any lads hear who are applying for it, prepare for it very well because they seem like stuck up snobs imho

anybody who actually wants more detail of the interview I will pm you my full experience from start too finish (basicly the letter I wrote which was a complaint too the company)