elmet training:
Proof will be in the pudding. Enough said nowPaul
Thought as much just a ploy.
beetee07:
elmet training:
Proof will be in the pudding. Enough said nowPaul
Thought as much just a ploy.
Lol
LGVTrainer:
Tachograph your comments about Paul"s post being just a marketing ploy by a trainer are a bit low although it may be your opinion. I have met Paul and consider myself a pretty good judge of character and he is a man of honour.His original post did not appear a marketing tactic at all and only when asked about the identity of the company did he respond saying the letter was confidential and that he would pass the details to Elmet Passes. Something the author had asked for.
We don’t get many apologies on here but that deserves one mate.
I stand by what I said, this thread is nothing more or less than a marketing ploy.
It was obvious that people would ask who the company was and it appears to be equally obvious that the OP had no intention of telling anyone unless they train with his company.
Ok then the company is Longs. Not sure of the wages though.
Paul
elmet training:
Ok then the company is Longs. Not sure of the wages though.Paul
Thank you for naming the company, I’ve no idea what Longs of Leeds are like but I imagine there will be people who will benefit from your post.
Good luck 
I didn’t want to put their details up as they sent me that letter in confidence as I already stated.
I wasn’t using it as a marketing ploy, I was annoyed how the post got twisted and my integrity and honesty was questioned.
Us trainers are in the firing line for criticism so we have to be squeaky clean offering quality training one bad review can be damaging.
We all do our best on here.
Paul
Us trainers are in the firing line for criticism so we have to be squeaky clean offering quality training one bad review can be damaging.
We all do our best on here.
+1
Pete 
elmet training:
Ok then the company is Longs. Not sure of the wages though.Paul
I was just reading down the thread trying to guess who it probably was… Sherburn area, got 7.5t through to class 1, well known name, always looking for drvers. Had to be Longs.
Well if you’re happy to graft hard loading and securing timber from the docks in a force 9 with the curtains buckles trying to take chunks out of your face, then go deliver it to back street timber merchants round London all for a few pence above the national minimum wage then you’re welcome to it. 
Again, nothing to do with there being a driver shortage, just a shortage of drivers willing to work for peanuts.
Fs lads chill out. We are all here for same reason. Tryn help each other out not to argue. With out the trainers none of us would be on this site. We are all trying to find work all on same boat! Chin up lads
Left hand down!:
elmet training:
Ok then the company is Longs. Not sure of the wages though.Paul
I was just reading down the thread trying to guess who it probably was… Sherburn area, got 7.5t through to class 1, well known name, always looking for drvers. Had to be Longs.
Well if you’re happy to graft hard loading and securing timber from the docks in a force 9 with the curtains buckles trying to take chunks out of your face, then go deliver it to back street timber merchants round London all for a few pence above the national minimum wage then you’re welcome to it.
Again, nothing to do with there being a driver shortage, just a shortage of drivers willing to work for peanuts.
This makes my point valid company paying crap money so they try and exploit new drivers.
Maybe it’s time to face facts. A new driver, in many ways, isn’t the best bet for the operator. He has to learn the systems of work, he may get lost more often, he may have odd small bumps, he may have problems with securing unfamiliar loads, he may not be aware of the features of the vehicle he’s driving.
All this adds up to either the operator doing specific job training (which he should) or taking the chance (which will inevitably cost money). This is why the new driver is green if he thinks he will command top money with a new licence. When asked, I always make it clear that you start at the bottom and work up. This applies both to the type of work and the amount paid for it.
But I also believe that after, say, a couple of months, the rate should be reviewed and adjusted according to performance. Otherwise, the operator is having a laugh. So there’s a balance to be had in this and if it’s done properly, it can be perfectly fair to all.
Pete
Peter Smythe:
Maybe it’s time to face facts. A new driver, in many ways, isn’t the best bet for the operator. He has to learn the systems of work, he may get lost more often, he may have odd small bumps, he may have problems with securing unfamiliar loads, he may not be aware of the features of the vehicle he’s driving.All this adds up to either the operator doing specific job training (which he should) or taking the chance (which will inevitably cost money). This is why the new driver is green if he thinks he will command top money with a new licence. When asked, I always make it clear that you start at the bottom and work up. This applies both to the type of work and the amount paid for it.
But I also believe that after, say, a couple of months, the rate should be reviewed and adjusted according to performance. Otherwise, the operator is having a laugh. So there’s a balance to be had in this and if it’s done properly, it can be perfectly fair to all.
Pete
Then perhaps it’s time for the trainers to step up and do more than train to pass a test and train to drive and what it entails for the money trainees pay there is not a lot of back up for them.
But if you look at it realistically it still boils down to a company which won’t pay a driver a decent rate for the job exploiting new drivers.
Or if you have your head screwed on, use the company as much as they use you, use them to get some experience and move on to bigger and better things. Not sure how much longs pay or what their office staff are like but i cant see them being much different from any other big firm.
Its like where i work, people use it as a place to get experience then move on to where the better money is or better work is. Plus its a lot easier to find work when your in work, keeps your hand in whilst you look for something better more closer to home or the like.
Cheers
Jonny 
jonnytruckfest:
Or if you have your head screwed on, use the company as much as they use you, use them to get some experience and move on to bigger and better things. Not sure how much longs pay or what their office staff are like but i cant see them being much different from any other big firm.Its like where i work, people use it as a place to get experience then move on to where the better money is or better work is. Plus its a lot easier to find work when your in work, keeps your hand in whilst you look for something better more closer to home or the like.
Cheers
Jonny
Please tell me how that is having your head screwed on.
You have paid £2 to 3000 pounds to learn how to pass a test then your prepared to work for minimum wage to me that’s not right.
All the time these company’s get away with this sort of thing they will you have spent your hard earned money getting your licence you are worth more than minimum wage.
Newbies please wake up and smell the coffee all the time you except ■■■■ like this the industry will not move forward only backwards imhi.
beetee07:
jonnytruckfest:
Or if you have your head screwed on, use the company as much as they use you, use them to get some experience and move on to bigger and better things. Not sure how much longs pay or what their office staff are like but i cant see them being much different from any other big firm.Its like where i work, people use it as a place to get experience then move on to where the better money is or better work is. Plus its a lot easier to find work when your in work, keeps your hand in whilst you look for something better more closer to home or the like.
Cheers
Jonny
Please tell me how that is having your head screwed on.
You have paid £2 to 3000 pounds to learn how to pass a test then your prepared to work for minimum wage to me that’s not right.
All the time these company’s get away with this sort of thing they will you have spent your hard earned money getting your licence you are worth more than minimum wage.
Newbies please wake up and smell the coffee all the time you except [zb] like this the industry will not move forward only backwards imhi.
You just pass your test and can’t find work because you have no experience, said company offers new drivers a chance offering a fairly crappy wage but in return you gain valuable experience…if you can afford to do it and you can get the hours in to get a fairly decent wage then it would be worth while doing. Your getting the experience you wouldn’t have if you’d just passed and kept looking through trying to find work but couldn’t due to lack of experience…I’ll give you an example of this where I work I am on £18,000 a year which in my line of work the average job is £22,000-24,000 but for that you need experience…I recently had an interview for a job with a salary nearly double what I’m on now…granted I didn’t get the job but had I not had the experience I wouldn’t have got a sniff at the job…I enjoy my job but finding something closer to home is the goal for me. Same goes for driving you don’t earn big £££ starting out and you would be expected to take work on that many wouldn’t want to do. But when your new you can’t be picky, then again I’m just happy i’m in a job gaining valuable experience both work wise and life wise…but what would i know
Cheers
Jonny
jonnytruckfest:
beetee07:
jonnytruckfest:
Or if you have your head screwed on, use the company as much as they use you, use them to get some experience and move on to bigger and better things. Not sure how much longs pay or what their office staff are like but i cant see them being much different from any other big firm.Its like where i work, people use it as a place to get experience then move on to where the better money is or better work is. Plus its a lot easier to find work when your in work, keeps your hand in whilst you look for something better more closer to home or the like.
Cheers
Jonny
Please tell me how that is having your head screwed on.
You have paid £2 to 3000 pounds to learn how to pass a test then your prepared to work for minimum wage to me that’s not right.
All the time these company’s get away with this sort of thing they will you have spent your hard earned money getting your licence you are worth more than minimum wage.
Newbies please wake up and smell the coffee all the time you except [zb] like this the industry will not move forward only backwards imhi.You just pass your test and can’t find work because you have no experience, said company offers new drivers a chance offering a fairly crappy wage but in return you gain valuable experience…if you can afford to do it and you can get the hours in to get a fairly decent wage then it would be worth while doing. Your getting the experience you wouldn’t have if you’d just passed and kept looking through trying to find work but couldn’t due to lack of experience…I’ll give you an example of this where I work I am on £18,000 a year which in my line of work the average job is £22,000-24,000 but for that you need experience…I recently had an interview for a job with a salary nearly double what I’m on now…granted I didn’t get the job but had I not had the experience I wouldn’t have got a sniff at the job…I enjoy my job but finding something closer to home is the goal for me. Same goes for driving you don’t earn big £££ starting out and you would be expected to take work on that many wouldn’t want to do. But when your new you can’t be picky, then again I’m just happy i’m in a job gaining valuable experience both work wise and life wise…but what would i know
Cheers
Jonny
Please reread my previous post again.
All the time you except this crap nothing will change.
If people stopped working for minimum wage then how will they carry on if they can’t make it pay they go to the wall where they rightly belong.
This country’s drivers would do well to take a leaf out of the French drivers book.
Then perhaps it’s time for the trainers to step up and do more than train to pass a test
This one has been done to death, but hey, let’s do it some more!!
I am perfectly capable of training folks on virtually any type of vehicle/transmission/work. But who is prepared to pay for training they may or may not need. eg I could train someone to drive an artic tipper with Eaton twin split. Fine. Then they get a job driving an auto fridge. I think that’s a waste of time and money. My point is simple. It’s the trainer’s task to teach the basics of driving and to refine these to a decent standard and facilitate the test pass. Some will achieve brilliantly, some will need more practice to get there. It really is down to the employer to deliver relevant training on the vehicle/job/paperwork for that specific role.
Alternatively, let’s make the “standard” course duration more like 6 weeks at a cost of ■■?. I dread to think! But I’m capable and willing to do if anyone wants it. Serious offer.
Pete
beetee07:
Then perhaps it’s time for the trainers to step up and do more than train to pass a test and train to drive and what it entails for the money trainees pay there is not a lot of back up for them.But if you look at it realistically it still boils down to a company which won’t pay a driver a decent rate for the job exploiting new drivers.
[/quote]
Do you expect us trainers to train in skips, tippers, gritters, refuge, hiabs, fridges, low loaders etc…
Read the letter again they state they are prepared to give you the experience going through the different licence categories eventually stepping up to CE.
Fair play to them.
I have also trained drivers who have said they would work for free for a period to gain experience.
Paul
Beetee07 why on earth are you having a go at Paul original post?
Before he said who the company was it didn’t take a rocket scientist to work out it was probably Longs Of Leeds.
You seem to have a real gripe about minimum wage driving jobs, is that because your stuck in a dead end one & don’t have the ability to move on!!
I’m afraid as long as there educationally challenged drivers out there with there food stained t shirts and neanderthal attitude then those jobs will always be taken by them as the better paying firms won’t touch them.
Give the trainers a break, they do what’s required to get drivers through a test…end of.
Would you expect a learner driver in a car to take lessons in a fiesta, range rover & then a ferrari !!
Before you ask no I’m not a minimum wage driver, far from it.
elmet training:
beetee07:
Then perhaps it’s time for the trainers to step up and do more than train to pass a test and train to drive and what it entails for the money trainees pay there is not a lot of back up for them.But if you look at it realistically it still boils down to a company which won’t pay a driver a decent rate for the job exploiting new drivers.
Do you expect us trainers to train in skips, tippers, gritters, refuge, hiabs, fridges, low loaders etc…
Read the letter again they state they are prepared to give you the experience going through the different licence categories eventually stepping up to CE.
Fair play to them.
I have also trained drivers who have said they would work for free for a period to gain experience.
Paul
[/quote]
I have read the letter and it still doesn’t get away from the fact that they are exploiting new drivers with low pay.
And in my eyes you are condoning them by doing what you are doing.
Yet you expect trainees to part with their hard earn’t wages so you can train them to pass a test but you obviously don’t want to go that bit extra to help said trainees do the job better.
As you stated about different types of vehicles and training you know as well as I do you are just Bering pedantic as I said before I’ve done the job and I know what I’m talking about and from what you have put you are a about max profit just for yourself just like the company you are condoning taking the ■■■■ out of new drivers.