I did a 2 week followed by a one week HGV instructors course in my later stages of recovering after falling off the top deck of a transporter reckon it was around 67-68 time should have the certificate somewhere.
It was a bit of a laugh when the course was allocated with motors I ended up with a BMC 4 wheeler box van, one of the BSM guys an AEC V8 with 40’ trailer, he was ■■■■■■■■ hiself he asked if I wanted a swap but the trainers wouldn’t change. I will never seeing him in the ditch with Greenhous wrecker pulling him out. Did get to drive the Atkinson Veiwline on the second time down.
Hi, Mr Bewick ,You were spot on another rip off by the Goverment bled us dry we put a lot of money into just got our kid through ,ONEperson through cost us thousands ,another Rip off by the powers to be ,just like this CPC ALL DRIVERS COACH and lorry have to have for no good reason, only have to do one topic eg first aid and you have passed another money making theeme for them ,Cheers Barry
I for one am grateful for the RTITB, I did my HGV apprenticeship at the local training school and learnt far more than I would have done if I’d had to rely on just my work experience, as we got the opportunity to do far more involved tasks then in a normal fleet workshop.
I learnt to drive at the same training school, and three years later passed my class one with the same school.
Completed my skills test at High Ercall and returned there many years later to undertake a Health & Safety training course.
Whilst it’s funding may not have been ideal it certainly gave an opportunity to a large number of people to enter the road haulage profession in one form or another.
Regards
b.waddy:
Hi, Mr Bewick ,You were spot on another rip off by the Goverment bled us dry we put a lot of money into just got our kid through ,ONEperson through cost us thousands ,another Rip off by the powers to be ,just like this CPC ALL DRIVERS COACH and lorry have to have for no good reason, only have to do one topic eg first aid and you have passed another money making theeme for them ,Cheers Barry
Well said Bazzer,your family was at the “sharp end” same as us and plenty more like us unfortunately we are looked upon as ignorant ■■■■■ by those that haven’t a clue or couldn’t care less where the hard earned brass came from to put them through their courses,well if they cared to find out they will find out that the money came from levy’s on the payrolls of hard working hauliers wether they liked it or not (I certainly ■■■■■■■ didn’t 
) and I’m sure your 'Owd Fella would like it even less than me,if that was possible 
All the best Baz,cheers Mr. Bewick.
Spud1960:
I for one am grateful for the RTITB, I did my HGV apprenticeship at the local training school and learnt far more than I would have done if I’d had to rely on just my work experience, as we got the opportunity to do far more involved tasks then in a normal fleet workshop.I learnt to drive at the same training school, and three years later passed my class one with the same school.
Completed my skills test at High Ercall and returned there many years later to undertake a Health & Safety training course.
Whilst it’s funding may not have been ideal it certainly gave an opportunity to a large number of people to enter the road haulage profession in one form or another.
Regards
I had a pal who used to be the Chairman of our local Training Group when it was formed,and the only reason he used to try and persuade me become involved was if we “bunged” enough drivers through to pass their class one and two HGV’s we,as an industry,would never be short of “Jockeys” (his description not mine) and thereby by able to keep wage costs down,seriously this was the reasoning,needless to say I never got involved and I couldn’t stand the ■■■■■■■■ from either the RTITB or the Training Group,bunch of ■■■■■ the lot of them. 
But was I delerious when the whole rotten job was disbanded,I think we had a celerbration in our local,great,good ■■■■■■■ riddence to the RTITB hic!hic! Cheers Bewick.
transporter man:
I did a 2 week followed by a one week HGV instructors course in my later stages of recovering after falling off the top deck of a transporter reckon it was around 67-68 time should have the certificate somewhere.
It was a bit of a laugh when the course was allocated with motors I ended up with a BMC 4 wheeler box van, one of the BSM guys an AEC V8 with 40’ trailer, he was [zb] hiself he asked if I wanted a swap but the trainers wouldn’t change. I will never seeing him in the ditch with Greenhous wrecker pulling him out. Did get to drive the Atkinson Veiwline on the second time down.
Hi again,
When I was there I got the opportunity to drive the Scammell they had. years later when we bought a Scammell breakdown it came in handy as I had to drive it from Watford Gap back to Spennymoor. As i said before I had a good holiday there and learnt something at the same time.
In our case in the early seventies we needed about 60 extra drivers and the majority we trained ourselves with the HGV part a week with test on the Friday at Darlington Driver Training, where Dennis Gooder made sure he got a 100% pass rate.We paid an excellet wage and could have pinched drivers from other operators in the trade, but chose to train our own from scratch, so they worked in our ways and not the ways of other operators. I suspect you did likewise and although I was very annoyed at the huge levy we had to pay for the first two years, once I got my head round how RTBI thought, we made a profit, out of training, and benefited with some excellent drivers and fitters as a result.
Best wises
Carl
This Motec Scheme Im sure they had another at Livingston My Late eldest son did a couple of weeks up there IIRR, Regards Larry.
Evening Gentlemen, excellent thread this, and what an emotive, (to anyone of the period), subject. Perhaps a classic case of Theory not working out in practice!
The idea of a national training organisation for a whole industry is not new, but like all of the totally enveloping theories, it has major drawbacks. Particularly in relation to the cost base, and more importantly, how, (or who), pays for it. The idea that it is paid for by the industry itself is a sound theoretical one. But the mechanism, and operation of such mechanism provides a difficult balancing act, and in the case of the RTITB, and the various Training Groups was seriously flawed.
From the "modus operandi " of the RTITB one would assume that the role model was taken from the various training systems employed by the armed services. In fact on analysis it would seem that the bulk of “trainers” had some military training experience, and in many cases this resulted in “cultural clashes” between those being trained, and those imparting the training. Particularly regarding the driving courses. I have often been told, (in no uncertain terms), who should really have been doing the training, perhaps a case of role reversal, pupil v trainer! But I have no personal experience to draw upon to make an objective comment.
The quality of courses on offer, content, execution, and success in outcome, I cannot recall ever hearing them criticised. But with a budget the size that it was, anything less would have been a disgrace! That the systems employed to offer availability to participate in training were overly beuracratic, and because of this made the courses less easy to access, can be of little doubt…but this was a Civil Service operation, so what can one expect? But couple this to a funding system that frankly was poorly thought out, (probably by people who had little or no understanding of the various areas of the industry in general, and Hire and Reward haulage operations in particular), and one can appreciate fully the resentment felt by so many, as exemplified by Bewicks posts on this subject.
But what of High Ercall today? a shadow of its former self, storage, home to the normal lorry and storage operations that seem to fill these dead, mamouth sites. Some interesting old lorries in various states of abandonment, but little sign of the mega £s of “our” money so easily lost down the plug hole of political theory.
The legacy of the RTITB lives on in the accrued benefits and memories earned by individual participants on its courses, (and the appreciation by many , who may never have had the chance of seeing at first hand Gods special bit of Britain…Shropshire).
Cheerio for now.
Tamworth1:
Finally i often wonder what happpen to the Atkinson Viewline which ran equipment to and from High Ercall to Livingston i saw it several times at both places with the same driver.
The Viewline was part-exchanged for an F10, at Junction Ten Commercials in Walsall. They painted it up in their own colours and brought it to a (Seddon) Atkinson Gathering in Leyland in 1987.
Thereafter, it was acquired by a prolific contributor to these fora, and who may well pop up soon, glass (bottle?) of Bollinger in hand. He had a ballast box body built onto it, and then subsequently sold it on.
Here it is, on the left of this pic in 1990, next to a naked Viewline
And as it was:
Lawrence Dunbar:
This Motec Scheme Im sure they had another at Livingston My Late eldest son did a couple of weeks up there IIRR, Regards Larry.
Yep - I took my CPC at Livingston in 1979
240 Gardner:
Tamworth1:
Finally i often wonder what happpen to the Atkinson Viewline which ran equipment to and from High Ercall to Livingston i saw it several times at both places with the same driver.The Viewline was part-exchanged for an F10, at Junction Ten Commercials in Walsall. They painted it up in their own colours and brought it to a (Seddon) Atkinson Gathering in Leyland in 1987.
Thereafter, it was acquired by a prolific contributor to these fora, and who may well pop up soon, glass (bottle?) of Bollinger in hand. He had a ballast box body built onto it, and then subsequently sold it on.
Here it is, on the left of this pic in 1990, next to a naked Viewline
I was going to keep quiet about the ballast box, (but it was a copy of the Pickford ones), Chris yours was a far better restoration than mine!
The one I should never have sold was the Defender at the rear on your photograph, she was a dream to drive…but needs must!
Am drowning my sorrows as I type,…this 99 is first rate!
Cheerio for now.
And as it was:
Saviem:
I was going to keep quiet about the ballast box, (but it was a copy of the Pickford ones), Chris yours was a far better restoration than mine!The one I should never have sold was the Defender at the rear on your photograph, she was a dream to drive…but needs must!
Am drowning my sorrows as I type,…this 99 is first rate!
Cheerio for now.
You are too kind, John! Well, I don’t know if you’ve seen it lately but someone has taken your Pickford’s concept rather further!
WAN183G Atkinson by teapotcircus, on Flickr
P.S. I don’t know if you’ve seen your Defender since, but it’s lost its tank and been re-bodied as a flat:
Atkinson Lorry by robbiewos, on Flickr
Meanwhile, following its third change of hands since I sold it 10 years ago, my Viewline has now taken up permanent residence in the fair county of Shropshire - my 1991 paint job lasted until 2012! The only work they had to do to the cab before painting, apparently, was a minor repair to the back dash
240 Gardner:
P.S. I don’t know if you’ve seen your Defender since, but it’s lost its tank and been re-bodied as a flat:
Atkinson Lorry by robbiewos, on FlickrMeanwhile, following its third change of hands since I sold it 10 years ago, my Viewline has now taken up permanent residence in the fair county of Shropshire - my 1991 paint job lasted until 2012! The only work they had to do to the cab before painting, apparently, was a minor repair to the back dash
Super paint job.
Hi All
I,m following this thread with great interest. I went to High Ercall on the driving instructors course. A two week course followed later on by a one week course. I then went back about a year later and did a further week.
The courses were very good quality and although there were people who ,at the start didn’t, want to be there, they had been sent to fulfill a quota, they said at the end that they had gained from it.
I was one of the lucky ones who was allocated the View line to be trained on. Once you,ve driven a View line you don’t,forget them, lovely trucks—until the gear lever breaks off in your hand…but that can happen in any truck.
I went to High Ercall in 1970 and I,be never forgotten the experience, or regretted it.
Seems a bit like BRS- good for the blokes, cr*p for the operators.
I went to MOTEC in 1971 on a vehicle inspectors and c & use course. We were really well looked after (best transport digs I’ve been in).we found a good pub in Shrewsbury, next door to a nurses hostel, so we were there every night. I am second from the left back row, the lad second from the right in the front row was from Glendennings. One of the silver fleet in the background.
Ken
Bassman:
I was one of the lucky ones who was allocated the View line to be trained on. Once you,ve driven a View line you don’t,forget them, lovely trucks—until the gear lever breaks off in your hand…but that can happen in any truck.
I went to High Ercall in 1970 and I,be never forgotten the experience, or regretted it.
Mine never broke off in 19 years of Viewline ownership! You must be some kind of gear lever hooligan 
Hope this view stirs some memories for you:
Atkinson Viewline BVB 457H by 240 Gardner, on Flickr
Well,From the replies a lot of you liked High Ercall.I enjoyed my time there and asked Richard Read if I could do the Auto Electrician course.He turned me down because I was needed at Longhope,shame.
Retired Old ■■■■:
Seems a bit like BRS- good for the blokes, cr*p for the operators.
I think you’ve neatly summed up the RTITB,ROF,case closed Cheers Bewick.