Alright lads i was just wondering if any of yous could shed some light on what life is like working for agencies, i think this is going to be my only way of gaining experience to begin with! I am a bus driver at present so hoping that’s going to help but i’m worried about bills etc i have a mortgage and a car to run so just how regular and how much can agency work be relied upon… I am based in Manchester aswell so hoping there is a fair amount of work about…
If anyone can share any help or experience would be a massive help even any particular agencies they can recommend would be great. Cheers chaps!
Hi damo. Cant help you with that one yet. But am sure some people be along soon to help you. Im same boat mate… been round everywhere with no luck. So tommorrw im ringing driver hire for appointment. Was last thing i wanted to do but looks like ill have to. So hope your post sheds some light for me too
I’ve worked for agencies for 10years, most of my fellow agency drivers are self employed, I should have gone selfemployed but I thought it wouldn’t worth it but self employed maybe the best way to go, mind you I work out of Dirft at J19 M1. The best pointer I think I can give you is be reliable ie- time keeping, looking smart, being reliable, if you take job do it even if another agency offers you more money to cancel and work for them, don’t be frightened of saying no to a job if it doesn’t suit you, you’ve got 3months to make your name as after Christmas there will very little work. If you can work the unsocial Hrs, all the better, Supermarket DCs struggle Fridays through to Mondays early shifts 02.00 and late 12.00pm
Best of Luck
Yeah cheers guys does seem a struggle to get in there. I’m hoping an employer will take my 12 months of driving buses into account very wary about going into agency work but if its got to be done i will have no choice as i hate my job with a passion!
I was nervous at first before going with an agency but I have been lucky with the one I joined.
In one month I have gained experience working with multi-drop, steel and now construction (sort of) . I can’t knock it. They seem a bit dizzy and frantic sometimes in the office but I get my shifts through daily. Weekend work is there if I want it.
Thats promising mate! seems there is plenty of agency work about these days! Im not fussed about what sort of work it is just whether i can still keep a regular income.
sinclair89:
I was nervous at first before going with an agency but I have been lucky with the one I joined.
In one month I have gained experience working with multi-drop, steel and now construction (sort of) . I can’t knock it. They seem a bit dizzy and frantic sometimes in the office but I get my shifts through daily. Weekend work is there if I want it.
But then one day they could turn round and say ‘‘sorry no work for you this week’’ and you end up with no pay.
You want proper employment - stability.
There are loads of jobs out there, you just have to knock on doors as said. It 100% works !!
Hmmm - well I am on the other side of the Pennines from you, but in an are with lots of small industrial units with all kinds of small businesses and workshops etc… and I am turning down 7.5t work every week, but then I can usually only do 3 days a week due to childcare commitments. That said, I have found that if you are flexible, reliable, polite and well-presented with clients (even when you want to strangle them for expecting you to do a job in the same time as the ‘usual bloke’), then you get more and more work, because you are foremost in the agency’s mind.
You can be delivering for a general haulage firm one day, a food distributer the next, A Timber seller the day after, or Steel bar, or textiles, or anything at all - the list goes on and it is varied and interesting work. It also allows you to broaden your experience, different load types, different vehicle types etc… - Also I always chat to the old boys when I am in a driver’s bait cabin/lounge or whatever, or go over to their tractor unit for a chat, I try to pick their brains as much as possible you know “oh, that’s a strapping technique/curtain tensioner of a type I haven’t seen before” - I have yet to find someone who isn’t happy to help, even if they looked really grumpy initially. However the pay is crap, I am on 6.50 an hour for 7.5t, 6.35 for mate work, more if it is nights or goes over 8 hours, but I wouldn’t want to be relying on it for my mortgage payments - you get dry periods when work just drops off for some reason. I get the impression that the “Old School” guys miss the friendlier days when truckers would park-up, walk down the road to the local boozer and have a chat and a few pints, and so most are happy to actually talk to someone on the road!
I was sent on a job for another agency, who came begging to mine because their own guy just hadn’t turned up - no phone call to explain or anything, just sacked it off! I can’t imagine he would be top of the list for work in the future. This is a fairly common occurrence. Sometimes I get minibus/van work - maybe 10% of the time. I take it for the experience if there is no 7.5t work available - it helps the agency out, so its a “you scratch my back and I will Scratch yours” kind of thing, which pays off when they have a nice job down the line - like I said, flexibility is an advantage.
Pay for Class 2 is around 7 pound an hour, add a pound for HIAB or ADR stuff, Class 1 is another Pound - still nothing to write home about, but it would get you that experience.
Hope this helps!
Ive decided to go with Enterprise LGV in Ancoats theyve recommend i do a 16 hour course, my only concern is that there trucks are automatics but it is what i am used to with driving a bus guess im going to have to pick up driving a manual the hard way! How you finding it then is this your first job?
I tried them first for a assessment drive, which I drove the truck for no more than 20mins which was a massive put off. After that I went to Stockport hgv and did a assessment in which I was driving for hour and half. In my opinion you need manual training as so many people struggle with the 4 over 4 box. Like when I started work I was given a iveco which has a slap box, that took some getting used to. Yeah it’s my first job mate and I love it, only trouble is I’m the only driver there now.
Wheres all the other drivers gone? That doesnt sound good haha! Yeh im not to keen on the automatic I may give stockport hgv a call later on see if they can get me in pretty soonish. Ive got two weeks off beginning of september so ideally want to get it done by then really.
