hi everyone,
1st please let me tell you a bit about myself, i am 38 years old and have alongside my wife been a full-time carer for my disabled child, who is wheelchair bound and has had a lot of health problems which has resulted in him needing 2 full time carers, i have been caring for my son for nearly 16 years, it is only now that myself and my wife feel that he is old enough and independant enough to be able to rely on only one carer.
we feel that now is the right time to try to rebuild my career. before my son was born in 1996 i had jobs including textiles and driving vans and a few times 7.5 t lorrys , this is the direction i was trying to head in. i passed my driving test in 1990 so was able to drive class c1.
i am looking at doing my class 2 and class 1 in about 4-6 months time, however i am not naive i know that even if i pass my class 2 and class 1, my history and lack of references and experience is going to go against me, as well as the fact that i have not worked (in the sense of the word, caring is hard work) in the last 16 years when i try to locate work. i also know that passing my hgv will not show me how to do the job, if you know what i mean.
so whilst i am saving up, i think the only way forward is to find a company who is willing to let me work voluntarally so that i can gain experience and a reference from the haulage industry, i am willing to do anything from sweeping, loading, drivers mate to hopefully driving as well.
so please if anyone has any advice on how to approach companies or knows anyone willing to take me on as a volunteer gaining experience i would be emensely grateful. i am also willing to travel.
thanks karl
fredandginger:
hi everyone,
1st please let me tell you a bit about myself, i am 38 years old and have alongside my wife been a full-time carer for my disabled child, who is wheelchair bound and has had a lot of health problems which has resulted in him needing 2 full time carers, i have been caring for my son for nearly 16 years, it is only now that myself and my wife feel that he is old enough and independant enough to be able to rely on only one carer.
we feel that now is the right time to try to rebuild my career. before my son was born in 1996 i had jobs including textiles and driving vans and a few times 7.5 t lorrys , this is the direction i was trying to head in. i passed my driving test in 1990 so was able to drive class c1.
i am looking at doing my class 2 and class 1 in about 4-6 months time, however i am not naive i know that even if i pass my class 2 and class 1, my history and lack of references and experience is going to go against me, as well as the fact that i have not worked (in the sense of the word, caring is hard work) in the last 16 years when i try to locate work. i also know that passing my hgv will not show me how to do the job, if you know what i mean.
so whilst i am saving up, i think the only way forward is to find a company who is willing to let me work voluntarally so that i can gain experience and a reference from the haulage industry, i am willing to do anything from sweeping, loading, drivers mate to hopefully driving as well.
so please if anyone has any advice on how to approach companies or knows anyone willing to take me on as a unpaid worker gaining experience i would be emensely grateful. i am also willing to travel.
thanks karl
Never mention being unpaid or working for free on these forums.
Go away and rephrase your letter and someone will help you.
Well done on the caring side though
Wheel Nut:
fredandginger:
hi everyone,
1st please let me tell you a bit about myself, i am 38 years old and have alongside my wife been a full-time carer for my disabled child, who is wheelchair bound and has had a lot of health problems which has resulted in him needing 2 full time carers, i have been caring for my son for nearly 16 years, it is only now that myself and my wife feel that he is old enough and independant enough to be able to rely on only one carer.
we feel that now is the right time to try to rebuild my career. before my son was born in 1996 i had jobs including textiles and driving vans and a few times 7.5 t lorrys , this is the direction i was trying to head in. i passed my driving test in 1990 so was able to drive class c1.
i am looking at doing my class 2 and class 1 in about 4-6 months time, however i am not naive i know that even if i pass my class 2 and class 1, my history and lack of references and experience is going to go against me, as well as the fact that i have not worked (in the sense of the word, caring is hard work) in the last 16 years when i try to locate work. i also know that passing my hgv will not show me how to do the job, if you know what i mean.
so whilst i am saving up, i think the only way forward is to find a company who is willing to let me work voluntarally so that i can gain experience and a reference from the haulage industry, i am willing to do anything from sweeping, loading, drivers mate to hopefully driving as well.
so please if anyone has any advice on how to approach companies or knows anyone willing to take me on as a unpaid worker gaining experience i would be emensely grateful. i am also willing to travel.
thanks karl
Never mention being unpaid or working for free on these forums.
Go away and rephrase your letter and someone will help you.
Well done on the caring side though
Wheel Nut doesn’t mean to be as harsh as he sounds.
Just, a lot of people take umbrage on these forums to people who have anything funded on the government, or trying to better yourself by doing almost everything you can to get you a start.
Regardless of what anyone says though, if the opportunity arises to land you a start, make sure you have a clause in the contract about the length of the time the unpaid settlement is.
In addition to that though, personally I don’t think you’ll have as much of a problem as say someone who is my age (18) with no experience at all. I’ve been trying from December to land a Class 2 job.
i am sorry if the wording of my my 1st post offended anyone, i have now edited it the best way i know, i am simply looking for experience and a step up in order to restart my career.
thanks karl
See my above post karl, you were probably writing/posting yours as I was mine 
thakyou sam yes our posts did clash, thankyou for your words of encouragement and especially your advice
again thankyou karl
i would just like to clarify to any other people reading this post, i am not seeking to have anything funded by the goverment, i am planning on spending my own money on my hgv training which is earnt through being a full-time carer, which by having parents as carers actually saves the goverment money. i am simply looking to use the time it will take me to save up sensably and to gain experience.
thanks karl
fredandginger:
… we feel that now is the right time to try to rebuild my career. before my son was born in 1996 i had jobs including textiles and driving vans and a few times 7.5 t lorrys , this is the direction i was trying to head in. i passed my driving test in 1990 so was able to drive class c1.
i am looking at doing my class 2 and class 1 in about 4-6 months time, however i am not naive i know that even if i pass my class 2 and class 1, my history and lack of references and experience is going to go against me, as well as the fact that i have not worked (in the sense of the word, caring is hard work) in the last 16 years when i try to locate work. i also know that passing my hgv will not show me how to do the job, if you know what i mean.
Hi Karl,
It might be an idea to go to the Benefits Agency (or whatever it’s called these days) and ask whether you’re entitled to some help/funding to get yourself back to work. In some circumstances, there’s funding for training that can be accessed.
You said that you’ve done van/7.5t work before, so IMHO that’s probably the right area of work to start looking at.
As you’ve also said, experience/references might be a problem. However, in these modern times, the bigger companies are now far more enlightened (and there’s a law to cover this) when it comes to people having taken time out to care for sick relatives.
If there’s any kind of funding available and you’re properly entitled to it, then if I were you, I’d grab it regardless of anybody’s opinion. 
It’s generally not a good idea to offer to work for free though, because there are some bad employers about who will simply exploit you, and then tell you that you haven’t made the grade. A paid trial/probationary period is is fine, but please don’t end up allowing yourself to be suckered into the possibility of being ripped off.
WADR mate, you can’t afford that coupled with the possible loss of confidence that it might bring.
Good luck!! 
dieseldave:
fredandginger:
… we feel that now is the right time to try to rebuild my career. before my son was born in 1996 i had jobs including textiles and driving vans and a few times 7.5 t lorrys , this is the direction i was trying to head in. i passed my driving test in 1990 so was able to drive class c1.
i am looking at doing my class 2 and class 1 in about 4-6 months time, however i am not naive i know that even if i pass my class 2 and class 1, my history and lack of references and experience is going to go against me, as well as the fact that i have not worked (in the sense of the word, caring is hard work) in the last 16 years when i try to locate work. i also know that passing my hgv will not show me how to do the job, if you know what i mean.
Hi Karl,
It might be an idea to go to the Benefits Agency (or whatever it’s called these days) and ask whether you’re entitled to some help/funding to get yourself back to work. In some circumstances, there’s funding for training that can be accessed.
You said that you’ve done van/7.5t work before, so IMHO that’s probably the right area of work to start looking at.
As you’ve also said, experience/references might be a problem. However, in these modern times, the bigger companies are now far more enlightened (and there’s a law to cover this) when it comes to people having taken time out to care for sick relatives.
If there’s any kind of funding available and you’re properly entitled to it, then if I were you, I’d grab it regardless of anybody’s opinion.
It’s generally not a good idea to offer to work for free though, because there are some bad employers about who will simply exploit you, and then tell you that you haven’t made the grade. A paid trial/probationary period is is fine, but please don’t end up allowing yourself to be suckered into the possibility of being ripped off.
WADR mate, you can’t afford that coupled with the possible loss of confidence that it might bring.
Good luck!!
thankyou for your advice.
the trouble with goverment funding as many other people has found is unless their is an offer in writing of paid employment they will not fund you.
i did not know that their was a law in force when it comes to people having taken time out to care for sick relatives.
the trouble is most if not all of the companies i worked for before my son was born have now disapeared or been took over by bigger companys so references would be practically impossible to get and that is why i was thinking along the lines i have, but i do agree and understand what you are saying.
i was thinking more along the lines of accompanying other drivers and being shown the ropes ie loading/unloading precedures, securing loads etc all the things that the test does not teach you but can only be learnt through experience.
fredandginger:
thankyou for your advice.
the trouble with goverment funding as many other people has found is unless their is an offer in writing of paid employment they will not fund you.
i did not know that their was a law in force when it comes to people having taken time out to care for sick relatives.
the trouble is most if not all of the companies i worked for before my son was born have now disapeared or been took over by bigger companys so references would be practically impossible to get and that is why i was thinking along the lines i have, but i do agree and understand what you are saying.
i was thinking more along the lines of accompanying other drivers and being shown the ropes ie loading/unloading precedures, securing loads etc all the things that the test does not teach you but can only be learnt through experience.
Dave said what I was meaning Fred, only far more eloquently. Sam read me wrongly too as I don’t have a problem with government funding. I am chasing some myself, but my last meeting was cancelled due to the bad weather. 
Fortunately for you, if you do decide to go along the C and C+E route, there is something called the periodic DCPC which you have already got grandfather rights for until September 2014 You should be able to find a course that will allay any fears you have about not coming up to scratch. You could choose a drivers hours seminar, load securing and documentation, fuel economy and a couple of others to get your 35 hours in, you can even do load securing 5 times if you like 
For new drivers, those that passed there tests after 1997, they have to go through initial CPC training which does involve load securing and a hands on demonstration lasting around 30 minutes. This is in addition to a theory test before going on the roads.
truckdrivertraining.co.uk/
Have a look at this site. Peter is a member here and close enough to you to let you have a look around. Good Luck and if my first post seemed abrupt, it wasn’t meant to be so.
fredandginger:
… the trouble with goverment funding as many other people has found is unless their is an offer in writing of paid employment they will not fund you.
Hi Karl,
There used to be a thing called an “Individual Learning Account” (ILA) and that wasn’t dependent on a job offer, but you’d need to check whether ILAs still exist. Either the Jobcenter or a college will be able to advise you about this.
fredandginger:
the trouble is most if not all of the companies i worked for before my son was born have now disapeared or been took over by bigger companys so references would be practically impossible to get and that is why i was thinking along the lines i have, but i do agree and understand what you are saying.
You have a perfectly valid (and checkable) reason for not having any current references, so please don’t worry too much about that, because enlightened people will understand.
fredandginger:
i was thinking more along the lines of accompanying other drivers and being shown the ropes ie loading/unloading precedures, securing loads etc all the things that the test does not teach you but can only be learnt through experience.
A decent company will do this anyway mate.
I wouldn’t expect it on van work though, cos I reckon you might already know how to secure a load in a van.
Fortunately for you, if you do decide to go along the C and C+E route, there is something called the periodic DCPC which you have already got grandfather rights for until September 2014 You should be able to find a course that will allay any fears you have about not coming up to scratch. You could choose a drivers hours seminar, load securing and documentation, fuel economy and a couple of others to get your 35 hours in, you can even do load securing 5 times if you like
thank you so much wheel nut , god i feel so stupid now, got to admit i have not looked at periodic cpc in alot of detail yet but i thought it was 35 hours driving not the differant modules. 
am i right in thinking as a existing c1 holder (pre 97) i can do the periodic cpc modules before i do the class 2 test/training so that i feel more confident after all these years, after all digital tachagraphs were not about in my day. 
http://www.truckdrivertraining.co.uk/
Have a look at this site. Peter is a member here and close enough to you to let you have a look around. Good Luck and if my first post seemed abrupt, it wasn’t meant to be so
i have already been looking at peters site, hopefully this is where i will be doing all my training as it isnt too far from me. and dont worry about your post no offence was taken, i probably should have worded it better.
after 16 years out of the employment market everythings just a tad nerving lol
You won’t go wrong booking with Peter. His school is fantastic.
That’s another commission payment you owe me Pete
fredandginger:
am i right in thinking as a existing c1 holder (pre 97) i can do the periodic cpc modules before i do the class 2 test/training so that i feel more confident after all these years, after all digital tachagraphs were not about in my day.
Yes Karl, in your case there’s no link, so you can do your periodic DCPC before or after your Cat “C” course, so you’ve got no worries there either!!
Peter is your best bet in the area where you live.
Steady up lads! Commission pot’s looking a bit low!!!
Thanks for the recommendations, seriously. Pete
hi peter,
what time does the periodic cpc module on tuesday start and is there anything i need to fetch with me, i think i will be booking it online.
thanks karl
Hi. 0800 but please don’t book online. Got a feeling it’s fully booked. Much better to call the office after 0800 tomorrow to make sure. When you come for dcpc, you must have both parts of your driving licence with you - - - and change for the coffee machine!
Sorry, hope that’s OK. Pete
Peter Smythe:
Hi. 0800 but please don’t book online. Got a feeling it’s fully booked. Much better to call the office after 0800 tomorrow to make sure. When you come for dcpc, you must have both parts of your driving licence with you - - - and change for the coffee machine!
Sorry, hope that’s OK. Pete
no worrys peter, will ring tomorrow
thanks karl
Peter will look after you well, just make sure you get him a coffee