Class 2 Training

After a long awaited time, I started my class 2 training today and to be honest after my first lesson I felt very deflated and disappointed. It started when I arrived at the training school at 7am, for a 3 and a half hour lesson. I was sat around the office until about 8, whilst someone with a brain cell decided what to do, with the so called high winds we were having.

The instruction started about 8:10 and the vehicle checks were carried out and the instructor carried out a demonstration drive. I finally got my turn behind the wheel and I found it quite hard, mainly with the gears and positioning of the vehicle. After some very bad instuction (or what I felt it was) we were back at the school for 10:10, 20 minutes early, cutting my driving time down even more.

I complained to the staff, and apparently there’s nothing they can do about the first hour of training. I’m just very disappointed with this company and would never recommend them. They’ve definitely lost me as a customer after this week, for the further courses I wish to do (LGV1, ADR, HIAB). With my class 2 test on Friday, I hope it gets better.

It’s perfectly fair and reasonable to delay the start of training in the event of particularly foul weather. BUT the time should always be compensated. It may not be possible on the same day due to scheduling but it must be made to happen at some point during the course.

It’s also correct to return to base a few minutes before the end of the session to complete a comprehensive debrief. But this would only normally take 5 or 10 minutes.

Try and speak to a senior member of staff and get your issue addressed.

In the meantime, try to enjoy your training and hopefully you’ll be a happier man on Friday.

Pete :laughing: :laughing:

Sitting around in an office isn’t learning to drive an HGV. If they’ve not compensated it at some point I’d personally name & shame.

Nothing they can do about it? They just can’t be bothered or just don’t care.

I wish you the best of luck with the rest of your training and I really hope it improves.

Simongrove:
After a long awaited time, I started my class 2 training today and to be honest after my first lesson I felt very deflated and disappointed. It started when I arrived at the training school at 7am, for a 3 and a half hour lesson. I was sat around the office until about 8, whilst someone with a brain cell decided what to do, with the so called high winds we were having.

The instruction started about 8:10 and the vehicle checks were carried out and the instructor carried out a demonstration drive. I finally got my turn behind the wheel and I found it quite hard, mainly with the gears and positioning of the vehicle. After some very bad instuction (or what I felt it was) we were back at the school for 10:10, 20 minutes early, cutting my driving time down even more.

I complained to the staff, and apparently there’s nothing they can do about the first hour of training. I’m just very disappointed with this company and would never recommend them. They’ve definitely lost me as a customer after this week, for the further courses I wish to do (LGV1, ADR, HIAB). With my class 2 test on Friday, I hope it gets better.

You are allowed to name the company on here if you want to

I would be expecting them to give you the hour back during the week. During my class 2 training there was a problem with a part on the vehicle that required it to go in and be fixed cutting our day short by 2 hours. However they just started the other 2 days an hour early. You’ve gotta make sure you get what you pay for

Finished my 2nd day training. Gladly to say I am back on track still needs a bit of improvment from my end but all in all the drive went really well the way its went today I can say that I felt like I will gonna pass it hopefully had a great day with instructor he taught me through everything nonstop today.

Glad it all seems to be working out. Bad weather is a problem every year. It’s always a balance between whether to battle on through storms and snow or to delay some of the training hoping for a break in the conditions. The problem is that the test is pre booked and cannot be cancelled at short notice.

Today it may be snowing and the test centre is closed but tomorrow it will probably be open for business. If our test is tomorrow we have little choice but to continue as best as possible, within saftey limits. However if the test is in a few days it may be sensible to cancel some of todays training and try to make up the lost time over the remaining days. No obvious answer.

I don’t believe you should name and shame over an act of god especially as things now seem back on track.

Good luck for Friday.

If it’s any help I had a really crap first lesson as well and went on to pass the test ok, the size of the wagon and the unfamiliar gearbox can be a bit of a shock to the system. If it wasn’t for the fact i’d ploughed £1K of my hard earned cash into it I doubt i’d have gone back the next day!

I hope it goes well for you for the rest of the week :slight_smile:

Glad it all seems to be working out. Bad weather is a problem every year. It’s always a balance between whether to battle on through storms and snow or to delay some of the training hoping for a break in the conditions. The problem is that the test is pre booked and cannot be cancelled at short notice.

Today it may be snowing and the test centre is closed but tomorrow it will propably be open for business. If our test is tomorrow we have little choice but to continue as best as possible, within saftey limits. However if the test is in a few days it may be sensible to cancel some of todays training and try to make up the lost time over the remaining days. No obvious answer.

I don’t believe you should name and shame over an act of god especially as things now seem back on track.

Good luck for Friday.

As John says, trainers have no control over the weather and it is difficult to manage the situation very often. But I’m sure he agrees with me that every effort - not just a feeble attempt - should be made to make up any lost time.

I also agree that, as things stand at the moment, I wouldn’t be looking for “name and shame”. Give them a chance. It seems you maybe got off on the wrong foot which has now been put right. So why spoil it?

All the best, Pete :laughing: :laughing:

Peter Smythe:
But I’m sure he agrees with me that every effort - not just a feeble attempt - should be made to make up any lost time.

Absolutely. Trainers have several options available but sometimes these are not made known to the candidate. Starting early or finishing late is the obvious , but not always possible due to poor light or heavy rush hour traffic. Other options may include working at the weekend, or perhaps even exchanging the test slot with a booked retest / Mod 4 candidate. In any event going the extra mile to find a solution is appreciated.

In very rare cases where lost time cannot be made up we will always offer to add the lost time to any future training free despite the problem not being out fault. That way the candidate feels you are sharing the problem together. A new, shorter hourly target schedule is agreed and both we and the candidate look on it as a new challenge. As over 50% of what is needed to Pass the test is in the head anyway, Strengthen the mind and the shorter course is not usually a problem.

Today’s training went well, a lot better than yesterday. A much improved performance and it would seem I’m on track, just a couple of areas to improve on over the next couple of days. On another note, the company are definitely making no effort to make sure I get all my time training, which is very frustrating. I paid a lot of money for this, and I feel slightly robbed.

It’s up to you to get it sorted. Whilst I fully understand the late start I cant live with the candidate being “done”. Something should be on offer to make you happy. So get on the case.

All the best for Friday, Pete :laughing: :laughing:

Maybe its a sign of the times but when i did my weeks training to go straight to hgv 1 all those years ago it was a full day that started at 08:00 in the morning and finished at 17:00 in the evening Monday to Thursday , on Friday morning it was a quick one hour revision drive in the morning before the test at lunchtime.
I remember after my first day how much my shoulders hurt because of the steering and the pressure i felt driving an artic. We spent all day just driving around Plymouth upsetting everyone.I parked , i did hill starts , i reversed , i did u turns all before lunch time. I spent the entire second afternoon reversing the artic in his yard performing a copy of the excercise i would have to do on my test , by the end of that second day i could do it with my eyes shut but my neck was killing me from turning around.

I suppose its very different today , just as much time on theory as they spend in practice.

Things have certainly changed.

As always, some change can be good - some not so good.

Pete :laughing: :laughing:

tamarman:
Maybe its a sign of the times but when i did my weeks training to go straight to hgv 1 all those years ago it was a full day that started at 08:00 in the morning and finished at 17:00 in the evening Monday to Thursday , on Friday morning it was a quick one hour revision drive in the morning before the test at lunchtime.
I remember after my first day how much my shoulders hurt because of the steering and the pressure i felt driving an artic. We spent all day just driving around Plymouth upsetting everyone.I parked , i did hill starts , i reversed , i did u turns all before lunch time. I spent the entire second afternoon reversing the artic in his yard performing a copy of the excercise i would have to do on my test , by the end of that second day i could do it with my eyes shut but my neck was killing me from turning around.

I suppose its very different today , just as much time on theory as they spend in practice.

I think the difference with things in this day n age is all to do with filling the books ie money money money! There is sum providers who are out to line there pockets and couldn’t give 2 monkeys if you pass or fail, then there’s others who take a bit of pride in what the do, and set out to achieve that at any cost, it’s all about doing your home work, and picking the right trainer, a few weeks trawling this forum and you will soon find out who to go to. A mate of mine done his class 2 the same time as me with the same outfit, different “teachers” mine was no holes barred said it like it was and if “you weren’t seeing the picture” he made sure you seen it by the tone of his voice, which I like, as I was used to it on the building sites in my teenage years, my mates trainer sat on his phone most the time, saying turn there turn here, I passed he failed, he passed 2nd go, by changing to my man!

I passed my class 2 test today with only a few minors :smiley:


:smiley: :smiley:

That’s brill. Well done! Pete :laughing: :laughing:

Glad it all came together in the end, well done on passing.