Passed C & E afew months back but have struggled to land a job . Had a couple of interviews and assessments but haven’t landed any thing. ( reversing is trash ) .
Started looking at cat C jobs as this will solve the reversing problem. Still not alot of success tho as I have no experience.
Brakes has been put forwards as an option as they hire new drivers. But the handful off people I know who have worked there say its terrible. Regular 60 + hour weeks but only payed 45 ect . So question is are my friends work shy cry babies or is brakes really as bad as people say .
I went back to my trainer and arranged more tuition for reversing after I failed my first assessment. Is this something you could do? The problem with taking a cat c job is you’ll never get better at reversing. I have no experience of Brakes, but the stories seem consistent - only about hard work though, not actually not paying you for work done!?!? Are you working already not in transport? Depends how desparately you want to start?
I’ve worked at Brakes, Bidvest and Palmer and Harvey (until they went under) It’s backbreaking work. You’re essentially a warehouseman with a little bit of driving.
Although I’m pretty sure you get paid for the hours you do, the money isn’t bad. You will come under pressure to make deliveries, but it very much depends on your own personality, how you handle that pressure and whether you’re sensible enough to say no when required.
They do now invest in a bit of training rather than just throw a set of keys at you.
I was at the Aylesford Branch for Brakes, and their recruitment policy seemed to be to hire lots of Ex royal engineers, Fijians and retired Gurkhas who had all just left the army and were at the peak of physical fitness, make of that what you will.
I finished driving around 2018, so please consider that. It may have now changed
Royal954:
Passed C & E afew months back but have struggled to land a job ( reversing is trash ) .
Any insights will be appreciated.
Just for the reversing in the arctic.
The way you want to the back of the trailer to move is the same way the bottom of the steeringwheel turns.
If you want to straighten the cab with the trailer, turn towards the image of the trailer in your mirror.
Let the trailer do the work over time.
If you the headboard is blocking your view, turn the tractor back straight for a moment to clear the mirror and take a ‘peek’.
Your mirrors will give you a distorted view of the position of the trailer, because they are convex and also because if you’re using the trailer wheels as a reference point, they are higher up. The only time they show the true position of the trailer relative to what’s around it is when the cab is inline with the trailer. You can get rid of this by stopping and having a quick look out the window down the side. It’ll reset your spatial awareness and give you a better idea of where you need to be.
Keep the lorry moving, even if it’s a crawl. If you stop you’ll lose track of where the tractor wheels are and how much turn you’re getting from the angle of the tractor to the trailor and how quickly it is increasing.
stu675:
I went back to my trainer and arranged more tuition for reversing after I failed my first assessment. Is this something you could do? The problem with taking a cat c job is you’ll never get better at reversing.?
I did speak to trainer they said your good enough to pass 3 a you know the basics, getting good at reversing is something you learn over weeks and months and paying for lessons will cost alot of money and will yeald little gains . Experience and repetition is needed .
PaddyTheLorryDriver:
The hourly rate is pants but I’m really thankful they took me on so soon after passing. I’m gaining class 1 experience
This is possibly my problem I’m applying for the better jobs ( pay ) and am completing with experience. May have to go for the lower hanging fruit and gain experience .
stu675:
I went back to my trainer and arranged more tuition for reversing after I failed my first assessment. Is this something you could do? The problem with taking a cat c job is you’ll never get better at reversing.?
I did speak to trainer they said your good enough to pass 3 a you know the basics, getting good at reversing is something you learn over weeks and months and paying for lessons will cost alot of money and will yeald little gains . Experience and repetition is needed .
Wow! Yes I agree the ideal is to learn while you’re being paid for it. But that sounds like an admission of failure that they dont think they can teach you to pass an assessment.
I went straight into a class 1 job on passing my test.
I learnt, as most do, on the job.
It was a baptism of fire.
I had lots of help, some from our other drivers who were also delivering to same place, or sometimes drivers from other companies.
Had instances where the lads at the delivery point helped me get it in. They see it done several rimes a day and have an understanding of what’s needed.
It comes with time, reversing isn’t a black art, it just takes practice. Someone who has mastered it makes it look easy and it just isn’t at first.
Getting a start somewhere to start learning is the big problem.
Good luck. [emoji106]
But that sounds like an admission of failure that they dont think they can teach you to pass an assessment.
lol . I hope not . I took it as I’m very busy and I’m using my one day off a week to do this additional training and you will be fine in the long run . We’ll that’s what I’m hoping anyway
If you imagine putting boxes of chips on a sack barrow and wheeling it into places while your truck is on double yellows, after having circled the block a couple of times to get a space, this is probably a scenario that will come up frequently. Expect the occasional cheeky comment from members of the public while you toil in a) balmy sunshine or b) freezing cold.
Positives might be an early start / early finish and good exercise.
This work actually suits some and it is quite well paid for class 2. Probably a young man’s game.
Brakes is Hard graft and the yellow line parking did me in after the third day arguing with the fake police, so I quit and would never do that work again not even for £30 ph!
