Although it sounds depressing, the posts here seem to sum it up. There aren’t the huge vacancies waiting to be filled, either in HGV work or anything else. In any area there are a set number of companies that advertise all year round for a reason and lots of agencies trying to fill those same vacancies using different wording to try to disguise what company it is. Then you have a couple of the small general haulage firms, an example of which is in the op. You can’t get anywhere near the big supermarket chains anymore as you could years ago.
I’m reading the posts from Carryfast and he sums it up. We all have a limited amount of savings (and a limited health and strength working life) and when they’re gone, they’re gone. I tried the local paper and absolutely nothing. ‘Find a job’ that used to be the jobcenter and only one agency with 12 adverts for the same ‘green truck’ jobs (general haulage curtain sider tramping and flatbed experience preferred). Office jobs want experience. Minimum wage night watchman/Security guard want an SIA certificate and preferred first-aid training …
I think this is going to be a long wait to get a job that I’m capable of doing at my age. As we speak I’ve just had a text from an agency that I’ve worked for before asking if I’m available tomorrow. I’ll pop in and see them later and explain my age, what I’m capable of doing and what I’m after. They’ll say ‘no problem leave it with us’ and I won’t hear from them again. At this point I’ll take any job, HGV or not, that I can do.