guys i am looking at getting my hiab certficate to give me a little edge in getting work, do you think this gives me more chance than just having the class 2 driving licence, i know that doing c+e would be more benefit but cash wise at the moment i need to spend lightly.whats your thought ppl , Gee
In a nutshell, any qualification will increase your chance of obtaining work. Yes, a C+E would be better but if you can’t fund that then a HIAB certificate would be better than no HIAB certificate.
Im also thinking of doing my hiab course aswel.Anyone know how many hours it will go towards the CPC?
Mullens:
Im also thinking of doing my hiab course aswel.Anyone know how many hours it will go towards the CPC?
depends if the course is dcpc approved and how long it is 7 - 14 - 21 hours etc
can anyone tell me if there is a recognised qualification as i have been told 3 different things by training companys totaly bamboozled now and dont want to pay for summit thats not recognised by an employer!!
Hi Dodester.
I did my HIAB licence a few months back, for the sdmae reason your thinkinh of. In my opinion, if you have a HIAB licence or Moffett licence etc, you’ll have more chance of getting a job as apposed to only being able to pull a curtian back etc.
My HIAB course was under ALLMI. As far as im aware they are the governing body for HIAB training. If you contact your local training school they should be able to tell you if they run an ALLMI course. Its the most recodnised certificate in terms of HIAB training.
I hope this is of some help.
Ben
I went to the agencies after using HIAB’s on recovery & I’m pretty sure that I got more work than the regular non HIAB drivers.
I found that builders merchants are the biggest market for HIAB’s on agency, they’re always looking for holiday, sickness cover & the agencies are well placed to fill this need.
Luckily, I was VERY experienced on actually operating the HIAB & not simply qualified by attending a 6hr training session, this & a little bit of common sense, saw me survive long enough to be working regularly.
I worked the builders merchants long enough to see lots of newly qualified operators, with little or no experience, fail abysmally within a few days & wreck their chances of working for the client or agency ever again !
HIAB’s worth about £1ph extra on agency.
dodester:
can anyone tell me if there is a recognised qualification as i have been told 3 different things by training companys totaly bamboozled now and dont want to pay for summit thats not recognised by an employer!!
This is an area that has become confusing due to the number of different organistions offering training. I can’t clarify this for you just urging you to be careful which course you select before parting with your cash. I suggest you ask this question on the main drivers forum to get the help you need. It is a useful thing to have and should get you some work, always seems to be a demand for it.
I did my HIAB a few years ago and it was simply a license to print money. The agencies love it when they find out you have one.
Hello dodster
I did my Hiab in June have had 4 days work on Hiab through the agents mate given a choice I would have done my moffet as there is more work for moffet drivers than Hiab plus make sure you do the remote Hiab if you do take the course mate … as its a lot different when you come to use one lol when its a last minute job you are sent on … and when you get there its a remote system … they had to send someone from the nearest depot to give me an induction on the remote … I have FLT and have had many calls from the agents asking if its moffit sadly its not and it will cost me £250 to upgrade thats about same price as the full course … anothe way to save money is to get a couple of your mates to take the couse with you and find a trainer who will do a block course … 
i hope this helps
You’ll find that the one that is most widely recognised in the construction trade which is arguably the biggest user of Hiab vehicles is th CPCS card. It is a plant operator card and you’ll need it to work for most plant hire, cabin delivery, or construction companies that run their own vehicles.
It is a lengthy and very costly process to get one of these cards, you’d probably be looking at similar money to a CE licence. It is not a mornings work doing a quick lift with the crane. If you have experience and do not need to be taught how it involves the following tests.
Stage 1. H&S touch screen test, not difficult mostly common sense but covers all sorts of H&S stuff that you’ll never come across on a building site.
Stage 2. Verbal taped interview, examiner will ask questions and you’ll need to answer them having read booklet from cover to cover.
Stage 3. Practical test, involves full walkaround check of vehicle and crane. Then you will load the vehicle with a full weight load, a load with an uneven centre of gravity and conduct a blind lift where you follow the signals give by the examiner. Having loaded and secured the items they then need to be unloaded ina different location.
Completion of these stages will earn you a red card signifying you are a trained operator and is valid for 2 years.
Within the 2 years you then complete an NVQ which is a load of form filling, more questions and another practical assement where you are photographed and interviewed about what you are doing on tape.
You then have earned the blue card (competent operator) which is valid for 5 years, the good news is that you can renew it after 5 years as long as you re-do the touch screen test and get 300 hours operation signed off in the log book.
As I stated earlier it is costly and time consuming but these cards do not get given away with your cornflakes. If you have got one you really have had demonstrated your competance rather than got a certificate from hiab’r’us training school.
Would I pay for it? No
Is it worth having? Depends on what job you want to do, I’m lucky that my company paid for mine and I’ll keep it current as long as I drive for.