Looking for PTS

[elvisbudavs]

Hello chaps.

Can anybodey tell me please where is the best place to apply PTS training course.

Birmingham and surround areas

[Stephen Blair]

QTS Group.

[PeteB]

From memory, and there are better qualified people to advise you, to get a PTS ticket, you need to be employed or at least, sponsored, by a Network Rail approved contractor. Like Stevie says, QTS are a big outfit with a depot in Nottingham, Cirencester, as well as various other places. The testing for drugs and alcohol can be done anywhere but by an approved company and there are a few NR depots around Birmingham, has to put you forward.

 

Are you looking to make yourself available to the rail contractors as a cutter?

[openspaceman]

18 minutes ago, PeteB said:

The testing for drugs and alcohol can be done anywhere but by an approved company

Pete is right but the D&A test is only part of the medical, they test hearing, as you have to be able to hear warnings, sight, particularly colour blindness to red and green and general health, blood pressure, balance, touch toes (I never could) etc.

 

As Pete implies I can see no advantage in getting the PTS competency unless you have a job offer, in which case the company will be your primary sponsor and organise the courses and medical. In my old company it wasn't unusual to have to repay the training expenses you left within a given period, I was never sure how this stood with employment laws.