I did my driving test at Sheffield Handsworth test centre.
But ATM I’m glad I’m out of driving and on the sidelines, also recently the thought had crossed my mind whether I should return to driving once my current situation changes
Conor:
Sheffield? If you’re happy to travel up to 30 miles to go to work you’ve got Doncaster, Worksop, Leeds, Wakefield and Normanton with plenty of distribution centres and lots of hauliers - certainly better placed than I am near Bridlington.Your age isn’t an issue, the average age of truck drivers is 55. Only the experience is but get signed with a few agencies and be willing to take the crap jobs offered to get started and you’ll be able to get work, especially if you’ll do nights. Night work is also mostly trunking and the roads are a lot quieter so its an easier way to get experience than getting chucked in at the deep end on multidrop.
Doing Class 1 straight after Class 2 is the easiest way and Class 1 opens up a lot more work.
Thanks Conor for your reply i am starting to feel a lot more optimistic from some of the reply’s.I do realize that it will not be easy and will be a culture shock from what i have been doing for the past 30 years.
Is worth checking local colleges and see what short courses are available . they run them for unemployed .
Things like cooks certificates and painting and decorating are often only short .
You could become part qualified electrician or plumber after only 1 year , and have seen crash courses of only 4 months . altho dont do electrician unless eyes are good
Having experienced driving for the agencies and many hauliers around the South Yorkshire area for 10yrs+ prior to hanging up my keys, I suspect the OP will need patience of a saint, the ability to work for peanuts and willingness to have no life outside of work if he’s considering working thru an agency round here.
speak to Pertemps in Sheffield they do loads of driving - DHL will take new drivers on down here so reckon its the same in Sheffield - best of luck I wasn’t having a pop at you It just makes me laugh that they always fall back on a hgv course as oh well at least you can do that now.
best of luck pm me if you need any more info etc.
Sheffield steel worker getting laid off ?
looking for a new career ?
can you dance and take your clothes off at the same time ?
I see a move into the film industry …
But seriously, I hope it works out for you… good luck…
Ok mate, you say ‘‘Advice Needed’’ so I’ll try again.
If you have set your mind on driving go for it mate end of, and I will shut it.
Let me tell you as somebody who has done a bit, It it aint a bed of roses, and to put it politely has evolved over the years to a complete cluster ■■■■ of crap…trust me on that 
You are thinking why not jack it and do summet else, well in my case I know nothing else now, so I do use my experience to look after no.1 and make it ok and managesble for myself, and yeh, admittedly still often enjoyable! …but a newbie HAS to take all the crap, where as I do not and will not, that’s the difference.
You answered my last post by saying they wouldn’t fund some other options, why not part fund something more worthwile yourself, and ask them to provide the remainder that equates to the price of the driver course funding.
Ok, I won’t try and change your mind again mate, but don’t listen to all the b.s off the deluded and cab happy, and especially the knob who comes on here and says he makes a grand a week while lying in his bed.(not kidding btw 
). that is all I’m saying. 
You’re best bet is going round your local small independent general haulage firms. They don’t pay brilliantly but they will treat you as more than a number and will take you on with no experience. Avoid agencies, you’ll get no support, and messed about.
I retrained at 38.
A lot of what has been said is valid. It takes time to acquire the skills to do the job well. Getting experience can be difficult, but is a bit easier when you are that bit older.
The only advice i would give is take your time to learn the job, and acquire the knowledge you need to make the job as stress free as possible. The fashion seems to be to get your class one asap. I would suggest getting your card and cpc and using the 7.5t entitlement on your licence if you have it to get out there and see if you like the job. Then move to class 2, spend a year learning the skills you need before moving onto class 1 and the big stuff.
I see loads of new passes who have gone car to class one and straight out to work on the job. They are set for stress and failure. When i passed my class one i knew the job and had made the novice mistakes, all i had to worry about was the size of the vehicle and learning to reverse it. Can still remember the stress of my first 7.5t shift tacho, paperwork, finding places, securing load, staying legal, not getting stuck. Wouldn’t have liked all that with the added stress of the big bendy truck. The main difference between classes is the bigger the vehicle the easier it is to get in trouble, and the harder it is to get out of it.
As said Peter Smythe training is good, only word of caution would be is vehicles are speced to make passing easy. Small 12t rigids. Not very real world, and not much use if your first class 2 shift is a 26t twin axle with rear steer. If some one else is paying i would go for a trainer with a bigish 18t rigid as will be more like what you will face day to day once passed.
Calsdad makes a lot of sense, I aint sure how licences work these days (something else I got bored with on dcpc ) but if you can drive something like a 7.5 t or whatever, even a ■■■■ van, at least you get a taster for a bigger motor in traffic and an insight, however tenuous, into the trucking world, and if you find it aint for you…sweet, little or no expense.
I started off on a Transit pick up doing long distance,…(and kipping across the seat at 6ft 1’’ 
) thought I was King of the road 
but learned a lot of basic stuff in those months, routes, rope and sheet to name a couple, and a ■■■■■■ is a lot easier to turn around when you balls up.
Spent the summer running the yard for a 10 truck company running 24/7. Part of the job was making sure the idiots took the right trailer and knew where they were going and what to do.
Seeing the clean high viz when they got out the car is the first sign of lack of experience followed by the scuff less boots. The majority of newbies seem to have been made redundant or left the forces. Been on a straight to C+E course and sent to work by agency to anyone who self insures (normally with a lie about their level of experience).
Problem with the straight to C+E is everything is new. They have never been around a yard or warehouse. Never done a manual entry, never used a fuel card or even know where J29 or J23 fuel is. Some need instruction on how to use curtains and internals. None of it is rocket science but experience that takes time to pick up. We all have to start somewhere, but I think it is up to the individual to try and take some responsibility for gaining the knowledge. A good way to do this is to take time to work though the licences and not skip stages. It takes time.
If you have experience of haulage or say tractor and trailer and reversing comes easy make the jump. If you are 100% green give it some thought.
One thing that is always true. The bigger the vehicle the bigger the mess you can get in…
IF the OP is still adamant on driver training, look for a firm who do 1-2-1 training, as many seem to run driving courses based on a 2-2-1 ratio of 2 pupils to 1 instructor which seems to be the norm these days. This will cut down on the time sat in the cab watching someone else behind the wheel. Then switching seats every few hours with the other pupil. This may then make 1/2 days training rather than full days in the cab with intermittent stops at various burger vans so the instructor can stuff their face.
There are a couple of HGV training Co’s based around Sheffield, however I haven’t had any experience of them, but there maybe some feedback if you look in the newbie section. I actually did my training years ago 1-2-1 with Atlas when they where based over at Edlington doing a couple of hours a day Mon-Fri. AFAIK they now run out of a yard at Carr Hill Donny near Montracon not far from the B&Q warehouse M18/J3. But who’s doing the actual training now at atlas I’m unsure.
Some electrician courses are less then 10 weeks 
yep it is true
Bu tif you really want to drive for a living then go for it
I have recently being having physio ( due to accident ) my physio was in the Navy & retrained many years ago mind he is on a lot more money then I am you could try that more regular hours better pay
There are a lot of thing you can retrain as you should have a look round
I started driving small vans then worked up to Cat CE but did have a good knowledge of the UK road network also the filling in off paper work etc the go with the job driving 7.5 t filling in analog tacho keeping records which has been said