A Newly Qualified Driver Looking For His First Job

NEW AND WANNABE DRIVERS (INTERACTIVE)
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Hello everyone on the forum. I am new to the forum, and also a newly qualified driver(I got my CPC in November).

I’m sure others have asked similar or the same questions, but here are mine.

I know most firms want you to have 2 years continuous experience, if you want to apply for a job with them. So obviously I’m stuffed there.

I signed up with my local Driver Hire Recruitment franchise and the guy said that my chances of finding work with him were virtually nil, but very occasionally there would be someone willing to give a newbie a chance.

I have also sent out my CV with a good speculative letter to my local haulage firms, and a couple of the quarry firms, that are not far from where I live in South Cheshire. I haven’t had a response to any of them.

I am also applying for the (rare) odd Class 2 job that doesn’t specifically ask for experience that I see online.

I am curious to know how many driving vacancies there are for newly qualified Class 2 out there? Are there more drivers than vacancies because the economy is on it’s arse?

Also, is it really true that there will be a massive shortage of drivers from next September as many will leave the industry as they don’t want to take their CPC training?

Should I go down the driving 7.5 tonner’s to gain experience, but then completely forget how to drive Class 2’s?

How did everyone on here manage to find their first Class 2 driving job’s when they passed their tests?

Having been out of work for over 4 years now, I do feel a bit annoyed that I spent the best part of last year doing my training, thinking I would be able to get a driving job without too much difficulty, hearing that there was a shortage of HGV drivers, and that having a skill would make me more employable; only to find that I’m no better off than the unskilled masses applying for the unskilled jobs in their thousands(Costa Coffee in Nottingham).

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Richard(the Scania fan)

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do you have a Norbert Dentrensengle near you?

they will give newbies a start

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Most newly qualified drivers manage to get a start on the agencies , you may have to take anything they throw at you just to get a reputation ie do a good job with 71/2 tonner or van and they are more likely to give you a chance on a class 2 when they suddenly need a class 2 driver and no one else available suddenly your 2 year lack of experience goes out the window lol , but do a good job bring back the veh with all its paint and get on with people you go to work for , politeness , willing to help etc and companies will start asking for you by name and bobs ur uncle your on ya way , a lot of luck is involved but its not impossible all of us at one time have done that first run and been given a chance you only have to look at some of the posts on here to see that , dont get disspondant and keep trying dont be put off by them needing 2 years experience apply anyway , they can only say no and you might just get the interviewer that you impress enough that he/she will give you a chance go for it

good luck with the job hunt you will get that break

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Braveheart1984:
Are there more drivers than vacancies because the economy is on it’s arse?

Generally yes

Some areas of the UK may be different but I do not know of any

I cannot see many giving it up because of paying out maybe £100 a year for dcpc

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Braveheart1984:
Having been out of work for over 4 years now, I do feel a bit annoyed that I spent the best part of last year doing my training, thinking I would be able to get a driving job without too much difficulty, hearing that there was a shortage of HGV drivers,

Who gave you that info ?

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Braveheart1984:
Hello everyone on the forum. I am new to the forum, and also a newly qualified driver(I got my CPC in November).

Hi Richard,

Braveheart1984:
I signed up with my local Driver Hire Recruitment franchise and the guy said that my chances of finding work with him were virtually nil, but very occasionally there would be someone willing to give a newbie a chance.

You’re off to a good start here mate, please keep them in mind and give them a ring every so often.

Braveheart1984:
I have also sent out my CV with a good speculative letter to my local haulage firms, and a couple of the quarry firms, that are not far from where I live in South Cheshire. I haven’t had a response to any of them.

Please don’t let this stop you from keeping on sending letters and CVs, but my advice here is that you really should consider travelling to the firms and meeting the boss face-to-face.
By doing this, you may end up in the right place at the right time. :wink:

Braveheart1984:
I am also applying for the (rare) odd Class 2 job that doesn’t specifically ask for experience that I see online.

I am curious to know how many driving vacancies there are for newly qualified Class 2 out there?

There won’t be that many bosses that are looking for a newly qualified driver, but there might be some bosses who wouldn’t mind taking on a newly qualified driver.
IMHO, that’ll depend on the type of work or the type of vehicles.

Braveheart1984:
Are there more drivers than vacancies because the economy is on it’s arse?

Generally speaking, yes.

Braveheart1984:
Also, is it really true that there will be a massive shortage of drivers from next September as many will leave the industry as they don’t want to take their CPC training?

There are LGV drivers who have said this, but some of them will actually retire or change profession, whilst the rest will go quitely to the classroom and get on with their DCPC.

Braveheart1984:
Should I go down the driving 7.5 tonner’s to gain experience, but then completely forget how to drive Class 2’s?

I’d advise that this would probably be your best bet, but forgetting how to drive a Cat C because you’ve been driving a 7.5t isn’t really going to happen.
:bulb: To be fair, it might even be that you need to consider driving a van in order to get your first foot on the ladder.

Braveheart1984:
… thinking I would be able to get a driving job without too much difficulty, hearing that there was a shortage of HGV drivers,

Some of us on TN have heard this before.
Who actually organised your LGV training?
I’m asking this because some of the ‘organisers’ are simply middlemen, who (quite legally) take your money and provide a service that you could have got far cheaper by dealing directly with a more conventional LGV training school.

Braveheart1984:
and that having a skill would make me more employable; only to find that I’m no better off than the unskilled masses applying for the unskilled jobs in their thousands(Costa Coffee in Nottingham).

It might look like that from your position at present, but that WILL change if you keep plugging away with your efforts at getting yourself noticed by companies.

Braveheart1984:
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I hope I’ve provided some of that. :smiley:

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ROG:

Braveheart1984:
Having been out of work for over 4 years now, I do feel a bit annoyed that I spent the best part of last year doing my training, thinking I would be able to get a driving job without too much difficulty, hearing that there was a shortage of HGV drivers,

Who gave you that info ?

probably the training provider

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Thanks dieseldave and the others. That’s good advice. I did my training with Gatewen Training Ltd in Wrexham, which is a small firm with 3 trainers. I trained with Andy and Jim if anyone knows the firm. I organised the training myself.

Regarding the shortage of HGV drivers, I read it last year in our local paper, as it was from the franchisee of Driver Hire Recruitment in Crewe that I registered with. He said that he had vacancies to offer drivers, and that if they had the licence and wanted the work, to come in and see him.

I also chatted with Stephen Twigg MP-Shadow Education Secretary, at a fringe event in Manchester last year, when the party conference was in town(I’m a Labour Party member) and I told him what I was doing career wise, as I had read that there was a shortage of HGV drivers, and he indeed confirmed that there was a shortage.

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Jennie:
Most newly qualified drivers manage to get a start on the agencies , you may have to take anything they throw at you just to get a reputation ie do a good job with 71/2 tonner or van and they are more likely to give you a chance on a class 2 when they suddenly need a class 2 driver and no one else available suddenly your 2 year lack of experience goes out the window lol , but do a good job bring back the veh with all its paint and get on with people you go to work for , politeness , willing to help etc and companies will start asking for you by name and bobs ur uncle your on ya way , a lot of luck is involved but its not impossible all of us at one time have done that first run and been given a chance you only have to look at some of the posts on here to see that , dont get disspondant and keep trying dont be put off by them needing 2 years experience apply anyway , they can only say no and you might just get the interviewer that you impress enough that he/she will give you a chance go for it

good luck with the job hunt you will get that break

I’m a very helpful polite person Jennie, and can work with anyone. I will call my agency and ask them to look for 7.5 tonne work as well.

I spoke to S. Cooper at the start of the year, and they said they will keep my CV on file.

I will just have to get out there and hand in my CV in person,like dieseldave suggested.

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Braveheart1984:
Thanks dieseldave and the others. That’s good advice. I did my training with Gatewen Training Ltd in Wrexham, which is a small firm with 3 trainers. I trained with Andy and Jim if anyone knows the firm. I organised the training myself.

Hi Richard,

I have done some training work for Gatewen, but it was a few years ago when they had a different owner.
Since then, they’ve had one or two changes in their management.

At least you chose a mainstream ‘conventional’ provider, rather than a ‘middleman’ type organisation. :smiley:

Braveheart1984:
Regarding the shortage of HGV drivers, I read it last year in our local paper, as it was from the franchisee of Driver Hire Recruitment in Crewe that I registered with. He said that he had vacancies to offer drivers, and that if they had the licence and wanted the work, to come in and see him.

I’m not knocking you or the person who gave you this answer, but it can rather depend on how the question was asked…

“Is there a shortage of LGV drivers?” will get one kind of response, whereas…

Or, slightly re-phrased: “Is there a shortage of experienced LGV drivers?” might get a different response.

“What are the prospects for newly qualified drivers?” will probably get yet another different response.

Braveheart1984:
I also chatted with Stephen Twigg MP-Shadow Education Secretary, at a fringe event in Manchester last year, when the party conference was in town(I’m a Labour Party member) and I told him what I was doing career wise, as I had read that there was a shortage of HGV drivers, and he indeed confirmed that there was a shortage.

I don’t do politics, but I think that if you ask a politician a question, you’ll probably get a political answer. :grimacing:

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Braveheart1984:
I spoke to S. Cooper at the start of the year, and they said they will keep my CV on file.

Richard,

A proportion of S. Cooper’s work involves the carriage of dangerous goods, so you might consider getting an ADR qualification. IIRC, I’ve trained about a dozen of their drivers.

AFAIK, S. Cooper don’t run tankers, so if you consider the option of an ADR course, please don’t let an ADR provider tell you that the ADR tanker module is compulsory… because it isn’t. :wink:
The best ADR qualification for somebody in your position is called Core, Packages and seven UN Classes.

Braveheart1984:
I will just have to get out there and hand in my CV in person,like dieseldave suggested.

You’ll find that turning up at a company and actually asking for 10mins of the Transport Manager’s time might just get you a start.

:bulb: If you’ve got your work bag, boots and hi-viz in the car with you, it might help.

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I’ve just spoken to the guy from Driver Hire Recruitment and he said that they struggle to find 7.5 tonne work for newly qualified drivers, and that they don’t really have van driving work.

I’m going to speak to another agency tomorrow, to see if they can help me out as a newly qualified driver.

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Hi there. It does make you wonder who came up with this 2 year min ex in the first place. I mean, how you meant to get experience if no one will take you on. But if you come across someone who’s willing to see you, pleed you case. It worked for a mate of mine. The boss saw his side of the story and gave him a chance over more experienced drivers and even trained him on hiab. Good luck tho mate and keep trying.

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Thanks tennantjon. I’m just going to go in person to the firms I sent my CV to in the post, and take my CV and licence, plus hi vis and work boots, like dieseldave suggested. Either they will find I’m really committed, and badly want a chance, or they will tell me they aren’t interested, hence why they didn’t bother to write back.

I think the 2 years experience thing is down to the insurance industry. The policy for a newly qualified truck driver must be much more expensive for a firm, than someone with 2 years experience.

It is annoying that you need to get experience, but that it is very hard to find someone who will give you the chance. As you say, how are you supposed to get it if no-one will give it to you.

Perhaps the government should step in to help newbie truck drivers, and pay the insurance costs for the first 2 years for the firms that would like to hire them, but just can’t afford to, because they are only just keeping their businesses going, what with rising diesel prices.

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tennantjon:
Hi there. It does make you wonder who came up with this 2 year min ex in the first place. I mean, how you meant to get experience if no one will take you on. But if you come across someone who’s willing to see you, pleed you case. It worked for a mate of mine. The boss saw his side of the story and gave him a chance over more experienced drivers and even trained him on hiab. Good luck tho mate and keep trying.

It generally not 2 years EXPERIENCE but 2 years of HOLDING the category on the licence

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A very good mate of mine who I got a job for where I work passed his class 1, 2 years ago and as he was our relief driver for the rigids the boss told him he wasn’t going to let him loose in an artic fully loaded with chemicals due to no experience, So he went in search of another job and on quite a few occasions was asked how many hours has he driven for?. But because he’d not driven class 1 since his test even tho he’s held the category for 2 years no one would touch him quoting not emough experience. Saying that, he’s now got a job working for autologics after impressing the senior trainer and the boss.

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As said before mate best thing to do is spend a sat morning driving around local yards its shows a bit more willingness you never know who gets your cv or where they put it! The best places to try would be local skip firms they have a range off sizes 7.5 12 18 tonners and may be a little less fussy on who they take on but just keep trying and seriously think about popping your head through some doors you may get lucky doing the odd weekend shift that no one else wants and get your foot in the door, agency work would be good for 2 years cause after that who’s to know if you’ve had 20 days work or 500 in that 2 years and all the while you can keep looking for something more permanent good luck though!

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Thanks for all the advice people. I’m going to spend a day next week going around haulage firms yards, skip companies, quarries. I guess persistence will pay off at some point. I’ll let you all know how I get along.

I didn’t know that it was to do with having held your licence for 2 years, rather than having driven solidly for 2 years.

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Aright brave,

Like you i only got my class 1 recently,(25 sept 2013) care off mr peter smythe. I did a few agency shifts on 18ton in June last year then nothing untill 1 week ago.
Signed on with an another agency yesterday , and was driving a 40’ container to southhampton last night ! and i’m back in again !! . What does make a little funny is that the Haulage company im driving with politely declined me a couple of weeks ago for a job because, like you, i haven’t done 180 shifts or have had my class 1 for 2years !!

Just when i thought it would never happen it just “plopped” into my lap .
Keep on trucking and dont give up, sign on with all the agencies (a ball ache i know) but its a numbers game , you get something eventually ,

Keep on trucking !

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Thanks Welshbloke. I’ll go into Crewe tomorrow and sign on with all the agencies in town.