firms ask for two years experience. if I have had my C for two years and I have a brand new C+E licence do I have two years exp or not if I was looking for C+E work■■?
short and sweet no you don’t you have two years C “experience”, you’ll start a fresh with C&E mad ain’t it!!
joedwyer1:
firms ask for two years experience. if I have had my C for two years and I have a brand new C+E licence do I have two years exp or not if I was looking for C+E work■■?
If you’ve had your cat C for two years it means you’ve held a cat C for two years it does not necessarily mean that you have two years experience, it does however give you the opportunity to blag it if that’s what you mean, but you still have to show that you can drive the thing.
In spite of what some people may say two years experience means precisely that, two years experience not just holding a license for two years.
what im saying is that i have been driving rigids for two years now. when i get me c+e will i have to start at square one again i.e. no experience. or will my two years driving rigids count for something when looking for ce work?
joedwyer1:
what im saying is that i have been driving rigids for two years now. when i get me c+e will i have to start at square one again i.e. no experience. or will my two years driving rigids count for something when looking for ce work?
short and sweet no you don’t you have two years C “experience”, you’ll start a fresh with C&E mad ain’t it!!
If you have spent the last two years driving Class C vehicles then you will have two years experience of driving Class C vehicles,nothing can take that away from you.If you have never driven a Class C+E vehicle then it would be impossible for you to have experience of C+E.That said,you have two years of commercial driving experience which puts you further up the pecking order than a C+E Licence holder with no experience whatsoever.I would suggest that you should apply for any vacancy you want that requires experience unless it specifically requests 2 years experience driving C+E vehicles,even then it’s probably worth applying,you never know.To reiterate,the comment “short and sweet no you don’t you have two years C “experience”, you’ll start a fresh with C&E mad ain’t it!!” is wrong,how can you not have two years “C” experience when you have driven “C” vehicles for two years ?
Deathstar:
To reiterate,the comment “short and sweet no you don’t you have two years C “experience”, you’ll start a fresh with C&E mad ain’t it!!” is wrong,how can you not have two years “C” experience when you have driven “C” vehicles for two years ?
You have misunderstood what garnerlives wrote. Try it now.
“short and sweet no you don’t, you have two years C “experience”, you’ll start a fresh with C&E mad ain’t it!!”
What a difference a comma makes eh? 
i knew what he meant! i can speak gobllede ■■■■ 
Posted that on my phone, bloody comma obviously went walkabouts. If you check my grammar and punctuation in most other posts, I am usually fairly on the mark with it all, honest. 
garnerlives:
Posted that on my phone, bloody comma obviously went walkabouts. If you check my grammar and punctuation in most other posts, I am usually fairly on the mark with it all, honest.
Very good
Like most people, I passed my ‘C’ and ‘C/E’ then started looking for jobs. It can seem a little disheartening when most firms/agencies say ’ Sorry, experience required’.
On my days off from my current job I asked a local firm if I could accompany one of their drivers (unpaid of course). During this time I did get to do some driving and the lad I was with put in a word for me. I was asked to go in for an assessment and must have done well because they offered me the odd days driving. Things are apparently picking up, and there may be a full time job coming up soon. I did two nights last week and there will be some more work in a couple of weeks when I’m off from my current job.
I’ve been driving a Scania R480, pulling Tautliners. The pay isn’t the best, but I am getting more experience. It might not appeal to some people to work for free, but I havent’ really lost anything because I already have a full time job, and as I said I’m getting more experience and I’m getting paid now I’m driving alone. Keep at it mate. Someone will give you a chance eventually.
Signaller:
Like most people, I passed my ‘C’ and ‘C/E’ then started looking for jobs. It can seem a little disheartening when most firms/agencies say ’ Sorry, experience required’.
On my days off from my current job I asked a local firm if I could accompany one of their drivers (unpaid of course). During this time I did get to do some driving and the lad I was with put in a word for me. I was asked to go in for an assessment and must have done well because they offered me the odd days driving. Things are apparently picking up, and there may be a full time job coming up soon. I did two nights last week and there will be some more work in a couple of weeks when I’m off from my current job.
I’ve been driving a Scania R480, pulling Tautliners. The pay isn’t the best, but I am getting more experience. It might not appeal to some people to work for free, but I havent’ really lost anything because I already have a full time job, and as I said I’m getting more experience and I’m getting paid now I’m driving alone. Keep at it mate. Someone will give you a chance eventually.
exactly my plan 
am off to see a local firm tomorrow with the same idea 
Good luck Gator. The idea of not being paid for working might not appeal to some, but if it opens an opportunity for you, then it’s well worth it. It did for me. I’m not flush by any means. Actually I’m financially anorexic but I have gained valuable experience, and every drive I do without incident and on time strengthens my reputation with them. Let us know how you get on.
Regards
Signaller
i blagged my way in ,be confident and say things like yeah ive done night trunking for a few agencies a while back etc weigh up the interviewer on arrival see if they are ex drivers etc ,they tend too give more as most were us once ,say things like if i aint succesful will you bear me in mind for future vacancies. i had no experience on ce at all but im getting more than i ever dreamed of now
Signaller:
Good luck Gator. The idea of not being paid for working might not appeal to some, but if it opens an opportunity for you, then it’s well worth it. It did for me. I’m not flush by any means. Actually I’m financially anorexic but I have gained valuable experience, and every drive I do without incident and on time strengthens my reputation with them. Let us know how you get on.Regards
Signaller
went there today and it seemed to go well the TM was very helpful and appreciative of my situation i asked if he would ask the drivers if they wouldnt mind some company so i could ride shotgun and learn the ropes and he seemed like that would be a good idea
I did have one little advantage that my dad drove for them for years and is highly regarded i didnt mention my dad at all but we have a very unusual family name so the cat was outa the bag quite quickly but hey whats a guy to do ? 
said he would call in a couple of days so fingers crossed
Most drivers would appreciate the company. The lad I was with did. After a few days he asked the TM if I could drive and TM said fine. I drove accompanied for another 8 days over 2 months and was then asked to go in for an assessment. I wasn’t very confident reversing so they let me shunt trailers around the yard for a few days until I was better at it and more confident. I’ve now had 6 days out on my own. Not a lot I know, but at least I’m getting more experience, and as I said now I’m alone they even pay me.If you can work for free for a period of time, tell them this and it may go in your favour.It did for me, and I note from others on here they did the same. Anyway mate good luck. Let us know hwo you go.
Regards
Well done both of you thats a great positive attitude and hopefully you will both reap the benefits
Thanks for your comment M4rky. I actually offered to work for free but when they sent me out on my own they insisted I get paid. As I said before, they pay isn’t the best but I’m getting more experience, and getting paid for my efforts. I still usually have to take a shunt or two getting in to a tight spot, but I do get it in without any scrapes. Fingers crossed there may be a full time job coming up. Will keep you posted.
Regards
cheers m4rky
i also had an interview at an agency today with a good reputation locally and i was very impressed we went through my experience which is almost 0, i said i wouldnt expect to get a job driving so soon and was hoping for some temp work doing other things but the guy said no he would try to get driving work 1st as i had gone to the effort to get the license ect and he had a few ideas to get me started 
faith in human nature restored
It seems the agencies are a great way to get into the industry.I haven’t had any luck there myself. So I concentrated my efforts on a local haulage firm.I was offered work last night and tonight but couldn’t do it due to my current full time job.I have, however, been offered a week of nights next week (Mon-Fri). I can do that as I have over a week off work.Good luck with your efforts to get work Gator. Thanks to everyone for your support/advice to date. Will keep you posted.
Regards