I am planning to become an Owner Driver and have a contract in hand for the new year.
I will need an operators licence and am in the process of filling in the forms - you will understand that I do not want to take a few months out at this stage to get a CPC of my own and I need to contact an existing CPC holder to support my application.
My question is how do I contact one apart from going through an agency ? I have asked the lads locally but the few in my area seem to be solid with work.
Loggo:
I do not want to take a few months out at this stage to get a CPC of my own
seems your going about it the wrong way, to become an O/O you should get:;
CPC
O licence
truck
new contract
Do not do it in reverse order
This subject has been covered on here before, so try searching back.
I supose like several others on here, Im a CPC holder, both national & intl tickets in my case.
the crux of the matter is basically, no one would be crazy enough to rent out their CPC to someone they didnt know, as the TCs are clamping down on this practice. you really need someone who is local to you, or is directly employed by you, or a best mate/relative etc whos a holder
TBH if your planning to become an O/O go get your own CPC. Because it only takes a slight disagreement and you and your rented CPC hold could part company leaving you in the ■■■
IMHO if anyone aint clever enough to pass the exams they shouldnt be allowed to be an O/O. though I`ve met several peeps who have got there daughters to sit the exam to become the CPC holder for the family firm
I see just where you guys are coming from and agree that I am putting the cart before the horse a little.
However the fact is that the chance for the contract will be in the new year and has just come along. Simple timescale issues will prevent me from taking a CPC for a few months (bearing in mind that I am currently employed anyway to try to keep body and sole together) The O licence application will then be a 10 week process. I barely have time as it is.
If I take the sensible route I will be all set up by May but with no work !
Please understand that I am trying to grasp an opportunity here.
Oh, by the way, I am confident that I will pass the CPC exams (might take a few stabs) so I am not trying to duck the responsibility of knowing which way is up - just trying to meet some deadlines
Loggo:
I see just where you guys are coming from and agree that I am putting the cart before the horse a little.
spose thats the understatement of the year…
the national course take approx 1 week to do + exams, if you attend a course. Or at least 6 months as a home study. If you read back on the forums on the subject.
Personnelly I did the home study for the natl and then did the home study pack and the attened course for the int natl
the course is both mentally and morally draining on the candidate, and youll prolly need a weeks holiday to recover from it :open_mouth: my advice is always, get the study pack, read it through for several weeks, ideally spend the time you have waitng to tip/load reading it. then book the week long course. whilst on the course lock yourself away from everyone in your life and have no distractions whatsoever, turn off the phone throw the TV out the window, kick the wife, kids, & dog out. so that apart from eating, sleeping and taking a dump, The only thing in your life for the week will be that book. Because by the end of the exams you WILL be having nightmares about it (all 450 pages of it) such is the level of concentration reqd. Now you can see why some get their kids to take it
it was interesting to watch other candidate during the breaks between the exams, as theyd be popping out for a cuppa/■■■ without taking the oppotunity to keep focused, then their faces would be totally blank, unable to remeber bits in the next exam. whereas the ones who found it easiest, where the ones who took 5mins to flick through the relevant course notes prior to the going back in for the next exam, I aint no einstein but even I can pass the course, so prolly you can too, the key to it is to focus on it totally
peirre:
apart from eating, sleeping and taking a dump, The only thing in your life for the week will be that book.
And in fact the book can easily be combined with two of those three things.
I went 17 years as an OD without having my own CPC, I just employed someone who had one. It was never an issue with the Traffic Office, they never even questioned it when I applied for my O Licence or at any of the renewals. Of course, that was before they started to look more closely at this sort of thing and it would have been interesting to see what would have happened at the next renewal.
Coffeeholic:
Of course, that was before they started to look more closely at this sort of thing and it would have been interesting to see what would have happened at the next renewal.
as long as the TM you employing actually visits regularly you wouldn’t have a problem, its ones who put their name on the paperwork and are never seen that upsets TC’s
Coffeeholic:
Of course, that was before they started to look more closely at this sort of thing and it would have been interesting to see what would have happened at the next renewal.
as long as the TM you employing actually visits regularly you wouldn’t have a problem, its ones who put their name on the paperwork and are never seen that upsets TC’s
I better not say how long it is since I saw the bloke I used then.
Its all been said…but i loan out my cpc to a friend of mine who runs 2 trucks…and i make sure he runs as straight as a dye…or else i pull the plug and hes up the creek without a paddle…the t`cs are not happy when someone uses their licence to half a dozen other people with no chance of checking theyre running straight…so its madness to ask someone to use their cpc when they dont even know them or how theyll be working…there are companies wjho operate a system of using cpc holders such as Transconsult…but be carefull…
i see no problem at all with employing a cpc holder (4 hours a week for one wagon if i remember correctly) no different to paying a mechanic or an accountant, obviously better to have your own and save a few bob a year but finding a week to take off to do a coarse for some, is not easy plus theres only 4 exam dates a year.
finding someone local should be easy enough as there is no restriction on a cpc holder as regards how many firms they work for and i’d think anyone doing the job would be quite happy to get an extra four hours money for not a lot of work.
Order online and the notes will likely arrive before the payment has been processed !!! Very helpful bloke at EOS if you would rather order by phone.
Also, for the case study (module 4) you can find the scenario used on here approximately 4 weeks before the exam. ocr.org.uk/qualifications/OC … ulage.html (last one on the list, one of which was used in the september exam)
There wll be 2 versions listed, but only one of them will be set for the exam. - guaranteed.
Then once you have it, rip it apart, and try working out the type of questions they will ask from it.
Similar notes can be found for the International exam.
Apologies for the long links, am just a bit thick.
Possbilbly the best course of action would be to concentrate on one module at a time, or possibly Mods I &2, then mod 4 at a later date, unless you are in a big hurry to pass.
Good luck
Hope it helps.
I have no connection with any of the linked sites.
Thanks to all for the response especially Peirre and Kate for the detailed gen. I realise that I will have to apply the nose to the grindstone to get my own CPC as soon as possible but what I was really asking was
you will understand that I do not want to take a few months out at this stage to get a CPC of my own and I need to contact an existing CPC holder to support my application.
My question is how do I contact one apart from going through an agency ? I have asked the lads locally but the few in my area seem to be solid with work.
Well, issue resolved now. Many thanks to all those who were helpful enough to reply and particular thanks to Davey Driver, Scab-in-a-cab and Smcaul who contacted me directly.
I’m in exactly the same position of Loggo. I’m trying to find a CPC holder so I can submit my operator license application but the TM1 form (http://www.vosa.gov.uk/vosacorp/repository/Details%20of%20Transport%20Manager%20to%20be%20Named%20on%20a%20License.pdf) seems so serious… when I approached someone who has a CPC they were quite daunted by the declaration that they had to sign, saying that they are responsible for tachos, overloading, maintenance and all the main runnings of the transport etc… they said they trust me and everything but its such a responsibility. At the end of the day surely they are not responsible, its the operator license holder who is responsible if laws are broken? (which they wont be). The form really scared him and I don’t want to be pushy so I’m still looking for someone else to with a CPC.
andyp85:
At the end of the day surely they are not responsible
They are, the clue is in the job title in that they manage the transport. If they don’t manage it to the standard required then the buck stops with them.
I’ve noticed that on the form that I have to sign as the Operator License Holder that I am responsible for these rules being broken. So I suppose the answer is that both of us are responsible?
