How long were you unemployed (or are still unemployed) before getting a full-time permanent driving position?
I am trying to find out if it is easy or difficult to gain re-employment in the driving industry. Were there any other factors affecting the time it took, such as any disability, or lack of specific experience etc?
Please be aware that I am trying to gather this information for a specific reason, and that responses may be printed out and presented in a Tribunal case. I don’t want to be any more specific as I don’t want anyone to be swayed. I would really appreciate genuine, unbiased replies.
you have good experience from work at XXXX XXXXX
which is unuasal thing for a girl to do
so you should have as good a chance as anyone getting work
in other sectors
You’ll never know why you didn’t get the job.Who’s going to tell you the truth when there’s less hassle telling you “We gave it to someone more suitable”.
Deathstar:
You’ll never know why you didn’t get the job.Who’s going to tell you the truth when there’s less hassle telling you “We gave it to someone more suitable”.
Many don’t even have the decency to tell you that you haven’t got the job, you come to that conclusion yourself.
Well year 6 for me,As i’m on the sick,but i would take the chance and work if i was able to find a reasonably paid job, But although such a thing does actually exist they are the minority and there usually is a big cue chasing after them, and most of them chasing these jobs, are already in work so have more chance of being recruited than someone who hasn’t worked for years , plus as someone has already said age is another factor if you are successful or not, oh and to add to this the big influx of foreign nationals hasn’t helped either, not to mention the fact that as far as your euro driving jobs go we the Brits are unable to be competitive on price anymore due to over taxation on fuel ect
I was made redundant in early january after 8 years service,my main occupation was a vehicle valeter,but i gained a class 2 license in 2004, in order to deliver our vehicles,nationwide via a 12ton atego transporter double manning with a colleague.It took me till early june to get my current job,driving a sprinter delivering groceries to folks houses,hardly trucking but it pays the bills.I would dearly love to go for my class 1,but lack of jobs and more importantly experience puts me off for now,it used to be about getting a foot on the ladder,now its about finding a ladder to get a foot on !!!.
i am 55 yrs old and was made redundant 11th nov last year. they were 114 in total with about
60 drivers.
i worked for the company 11yrs on class 2 tramping.
i said i would have 3 months off as i have never been on the dole before.
in the meantime the jobcentre put me through class1 ( 5 day course )
i passed 1st time and i am now looking for a class 1 job.
i turned one job down because the money is crap.
i am waiting to hear from another job on wednesday and it looks like i will get it.
but nothing is 100%
jobs are hard to get, but the great jobs are even harder to find cos they are not advertised.
if i get this job i will take it, only because i only passed 29th june.
so after 12 months i suppose i can go wherever.
29yo, Glasgow, 2 years full time lorry experience and two years part time on agency. Quit university at the end of may, before I’ve been working on agency on weekends and two companies declared that they would take me full time when I quit the uni. As both of these jobs were poor paid handball with a bit of driving of old dirty bangers and I had one great looking job promised already via this forum, I thanked them politely waiting for this one. But after several delays I was struggling for money and tried to get some knowledge of if that job will start at all… Maybe I was too pushy with calling the guys and asking them to give me some point to hook up (date, letter of intention, anything) but after lot of “we’ll call you back”'s they stopped to answer my phone at all.
I then started to look for another job and I was still working for agency. One company offered me full time employment on local pallet multidrop, but about the same time I was offered a job of 3.5t van courier driver for better money, which I accepted and I am really happy with this job - I enjoy it and money are much better than I expected.
So from the moment I gave up with hope for the super duper job from this forum to the moment I started full time on vans it would be six or seven weeks…
orys:
but about the same time I was offered a job of 3.5t van courier driver for better money, which I accepted and I am really happy with this job - I enjoy it and money are much better than I expected.
I dont know why I have a knowing grin on my face whilst I read orys post, I also would rather do van work for a same wage as class 1, and be happy.
My young cousin is taking home £420 a week delivering cheese and eggs to farm shops, no pressure whatsoever he just bimbles around the countryside in a transit van, and he is only 22, I would have loved to have his job at his age.
I was unemployed for 6 months prior to passing my cat c, within 3 weeks of passing I was in full time employment, the money wasnt great but was livable, 6 months later when I passed my ce I was employed as a class 1 driver within 1 month or so and earning great money.
As has been said before you just got to knock on every door and be willing to take whatever comes.
orys:
but about the same time I was offered a job of 3.5t van courier driver for better money, which I accepted and I am really happy with this job - I enjoy it and money are much better than I expected.
I dont know why I have a knowing grin on my face whilst I read orys post, I also would rather do van work for a same wage as class 1, and be happy.
My young cousin is taking home £420 a week delivering cheese and eggs to farm shops, no pressure whatsoever he just bimbles around the countryside in a transit van, and he is only 22, I would have loved to have his job at his age.
Anyone else feel a mug!.. I know I do…
I don’t have more than class 1 (unless we speak about some really crap jobs) but more than I had as class 2.
I can recall talking to a driver from thunderman whilst on the Holyhead Dun Laoghaire boat, i had not got my C&E at that time but was planning to do so, when i told that driver he just said i don’t know why you want a class 1,i said because more companies who do euro work tend to use artics rather than smaller lorries, but he was right not a lot of point in passing the class 1 , agencies typically don’t pay much more for artic work than class2 work
tommy t:
I can recall talking to a driver from thunderman whilst on the Holyhead Dun Laoghaire boat, i had not got my C&E at that time but was planning to do so, when i told that driver he just said i don’t know why you want a class 1,i said because more companies who do euro work tend to use artics rather than smaller lorries, but he was right not a lot of point in passing the class 1 , agencies typically don’t pay much more for artic work than class2 work
But there is much more easy agency work for class 1 than class 2.
I worked for agencies a lot and dont’ had much trunk runs…
There is no right answer for the OP’s question. In times of driver shortages then it’s obviously easy to find work — at the moment it isn’t.
The situation can vary a lot from place to place; if there are a couple of big RDC’s nearby they will keep a lot of drivers in work, but some counties seem to have few jobs available.
It has always been the case that it’s easier to get a job if you’ve already got one. I would always advise anyone unemployed, to take whatever they can and work up from there. It is also true that there is a lot of discrimination in this industry. Age, gender, nationality, you name it; but it’s very hard to prove that you were rejected for any reason than “there were more suitable candidates”.
