So I passed my cat C back in May, as mentioned on a previous post, and I’ve been applying to pretty much every company I’ve ever heard of and have heard literally nothing back from anyone.
I’m in a funny position in that I have steady full time work on the buses and I’m getting paid £11.50ph so I’m not desperate enough to take any old crap that comes up just to “get a start” so to speak, and I’m defo not going from a guaranteed weekly wage onto sporadic agency work, which limits me even further.
I had a look at an agency website the other day out of curiosity, the name eludes me, but the interesting thing about it was all the jobs listed also told you how many applicants had applied. What I noticed was that all the class 2 jobs had 20 - 40 applicants, whereas a lot of the class 1 jobs had between 0 - 2.
I’ve now booked my C+E for next month hoping that for a slightly fussy “fresh pass”, class 1 work will be easier to come by. Am I right in thinking this or am I just wasting an extra 1k only to be met with the “must have held your license for so long due to insurance” bs all over again?
I passed my class 2 5 years ago, went to my local agency to ask for a job. They asked the experience question and i said i had none. He said if you had your class 1 id get you a start tomorrow but i cant offer you anything for class 2 few years went by and i applied for a van job and told them i was willing to start on the vans and im available for class 2 if they needed me.
After a week i was in class 2 and not looked back. Never give up looking.
Thanks for the pep talk. I figured it would be a situation similar to how you described with regards to the class 1 thing, so I booked and paid for my class 1 on the 17th… then on the 18th (yesterday) DHL called me and offered me an assessment for next week. Job’s delivering cages to Nisa stores but it’s got to be better than driving buses around, plus 32k a year doesn’t hurt
I guess I got lucky that someone actually realised that 11+ years of driving 40ft rigid buses around does actually count for something, even if I’m technically a fresh pass!
I did assessment with DHL for nisa, it’s decent money, you graft for it though. Which depot is it for?
The assessment is easy, theory test is not a pass or a fail, driving assesment is an hours drive, make sure you do your checks, drive like on a test, loads of mirrors and forward planning, speed etc, making mistakes is ok aslong as not repeating same mistakes throughout, they don’t call it pass or fail they call it acceptable or referred, referred means fail lol that’s the DHL way
I recently quit First to train on the lorries. I took a flexible job paying under £9ph to free up time to train. Quite a bus driver shortage at the moment, so I can always go back if this doesn’t work out!
Did I understand you right, you committed to C+E training a day before getting a good class C job offer and can’t get a refund? If so, I don’t think you wasted your money at all, it might be a blessing.
You may never have done C+E if you’d started driving Class C. That’s the trap I see for myself in the future anyway… do I pass Class C and get a job (which I will probably settle in to for years) or hold out and do my C+E soon after then find work (better opportunities).
There does seem to be a lot of C work available locally but C+E undoubtedly provides more opportunities, it’s a difficult decision but generally the more qualified the better in this day and age, so I’m verging towards going for my C+E, unless my instructor tells me my reversing (with a trailer) is so bad that I shouldn’t bother…
Newcastle22:
I did assessment with DHL for nisa, it’s decent money, you graft for it though. Which depot is it for?
The assessment is easy, theory test is not a pass or a fail, driving assesment is an hours drive, make sure you do your checks, drive like on a test, loads of mirrors and forward planning, speed etc, making mistakes is ok aslong as not repeating same mistakes throughout, they don’t call it pass or fail they call it acceptable or referred, referred means fail lol that’s the DHL way
Rugby depot. Everyone says that the cages are hard work… surely just pushing a few (dozens more likely) cages around can’t be THAT hard?
SJB:
Did I understand you right, you committed to C+E training a day before getting a good class C job offer and can’t get a refund? If so, I don’t think you wasted your money at all, it might be a blessing.
You may never have done C+E if you’d started driving Class C. That’s the trap I see for myself in the future anyway… do I pass Class C and get a job (which I will probably settle in to for years) or hold out and do my C+E soon after then find work (better opportunities).
There does seem to be a lot of C work available locally but C+E undoubtedly provides more opportunities, it’s a difficult decision but generally the more qualified the better in this day and age, so I’m verging towards going for my C+E, unless my instructor tells me my reversing (with a trailer) is so bad that I shouldn’t bother…
Luckily I CAN still get a refund, my issue is with taking the time off to do it as a new starter, seems a bit cheeky. Might just have to postpone it for a couple of months. Defo going to do it though.
Yeah if you get a nice access point with a flat, level surface, no cars parked in your way the cages are easy. The reality is you will have to reverse Down a narrow alley with millimetres to spare, push your cages across potholes and up curbs and bring the empties back and juggle your load on the back so they’re not in your way. It’s not that bad, there are harder jobs for less money and you get offered alot of tea and biscuits at shops lol
Newcastle22:
I did assessment with DHL for nisa, it’s decent money, you graft for it though. Which depot is it for?
The assessment is easy, theory test is not a pass or a fail, driving assesment is an hours drive, make sure you do your checks, drive like on a test, loads of mirrors and forward planning, speed etc, making mistakes is ok aslong as not repeating same mistakes throughout, they don’t call it pass or fail they call it acceptable or referred, referred means fail lol that’s the DHL way
i’ve done a couple of Saturday shifts out of nisa scunthorpe.the drops in the west midlands with an artic was not the easiest of locations! as you say though,it’s good dough there.
Newcastle22:
Yeah if you get a nice access point with a flat, level surface, no cars parked in your way the cages are easy. The reality is you will have to reverse Down a narrow alley with millimetres to spare, push your cages across potholes and up curbs and bring the empties back and juggle your load on the back so they’re not in your way. It’s not that bad, there are harder jobs for less money and you get offered alot of tea and biscuits at shops lol
This is really good to read. I’ve got my theory booked for July & hoping to do my Cat C in August. I’d also wondered how hard cages could be after reading comments saying they were… Good to hear the voice of experience telling it how it is!
Wildarmtins:
Luckily I CAN still get a refund, my issue is with taking the time off to do it as a new starter, seems a bit cheeky. Might just have to postpone it for a couple of months. Defo going to do it though.
Could you not maybe explain the situation to your new work (that you booked it before they gave you the job) before cancelling your C+E in case they’re happy to give you the time off. They might see it to their future advantage that you’re going for it!
I’d rather do cage work than handball any day, DHL are also good because they won’t make you run bent. I also don’t rush and nobody cares, no transport lacky ringing and asking where you are or trying to rush you lol
Newcastle22:
I’d rather do cage work than handball any day, DHL are also good because they won’t make you run bent. I also don’t rush and nobody cares, no transport lacky ringing and asking where you are or trying to rush you lol
I drove buses for 5 years and found it a piece of ■■■■ to find work on class 2 mentioning that experience, buses fall into insurers ‘large vehicle driven for at least 2 years’ requirements now apparently. My interviews were face to face though, I find that to be the best way.
Matt87:
I drove buses for 5 years and found it a piece of ■■■■ to find work on class 2 mentioning that experience, buses fall into insurers ‘large vehicle driven for at least 2 years’ requirements now apparently. My interviews were face to face though, I find that to be the best way.
Most places I’ve asked about this have said must have held cat c for x amount of time, same as they don’t care how long you’ve had your cat c for before c+e you’re still a newbie in terms of insurance.
Just a little update, passed the assessment and have a start date in a couple of weeks. Full time, permanent contract, £32.8k a year basic. Not bad for someone who’s technically only held their license for 6 weeks
Thought I’d fudged up the theory test bit but apparantly I got all the safety questions right so they were happy enough with that.
Well done, it’s a good place for getting used to keeping everything legal, they won’t run you bent. They’re more bothered about you keeping legal and getting all the paperwork right than getting the drop right lol
but apparantly I got all the safety questions right so they were happy enough with that.