If it is counting as 7hrs towards your dCPC and you’ve got to do all 35hrs anyway, it’s not a waste of money.
It MIGHT be like some kid trying to teach his gran to ■■■■ eggs mind…
As for the other 28, as others have said, have a word with the jokeshop, but don’t tell them you only need 28hrs, I think they only give funding for ‘full time’ courses which are 40hrs, so 35hrs dCPC and 5hrs ‘vehicle checks’ or some other such crap to justify their funding - try your local college, especially if you’ve seen a dCPC / training vehicle knocking about in the last few years
For your own peace of mind i would do a refresher. I was away from driving for over 10 years so i booked a couple of hours with a local HGV trainer. Cost me £100 which in my opinion was money well spent . My confidence returned massively and i was able to turn up at my first assignment without looking like a clown ! PS I went to speak with about 4 different agencies and after telling them i `d had my HGV licence for 20 years they obviously assumed i had been driving continuously…i didnt have the heart to mention i had been out of it for a long time.
If you feel doing a refresher then I say go for it ok not quite the same but I have just bought a bike having not being on 1 for a few years booked a refresher couple hr I was back in swing of it no prob
Remember there are a lot of drivers doing the ADR now so unfortunately it dont command the rate it used to but if they said the need 1 then go for it but also remember that you have 5 years to complete the 35 hr dcpc from now so poss need a medical licence back good to go
Based on my experience…No, its not worth it. With an ADR licence youre worth about a pound an hour more. So after 1000 or so hours work youve maybe broken even. Given all the extra responsibilities and safety stuff surrounding the whole thing its just not worth the candle mate. Let them go bust through a lack of drivers.
Yes, I agree it opens up more scope/choice of jobs, but in the current climate jobs are plentyful. The only other plus factor I can think of is if youre mates with the boss of a local fuel distributor or have an "in" with a petrol tanker firm. But even then the good times are long gone. I had such a chance with Jet Petroleum, went for the interview and was told I would be on half the wage the old timers were on. Still not too bad, but too long a long commute and not really worth the hassle. Also, if youre returning to driving I reckon you`ll be taking too much on at once with the hazchem mallarky as well as every thing else.
No not worth it.
