So i’ve been a class 2 driver for over 3 years and went for my Class 1 test in November and passed it first time 
I went to a few assessments some made complete sense and others you could tell didnt want new drivers despite the advert showing that they did (Most likely put on them by HR above them)
I managed to pass an assessment with a distribution company for a major supermarket - I was told that I’d be doing mostly trunking work as I was a new pass and not the stores which was perfect for me and would give me plenty of practice on my reversing.
First day i got put on with another agency driver rather than someone who was with the company. thats fine we hit some stores. first store was a straight forward reverse off the street into the yard turning the truck. i didnt manage to do it. i kept turning the wheel the other way.
One of the things i think Training companies should teach is actually reversing in the bay from a 90 degree angle rather than the s reverse they do at the moment. the other driver jumped in and did it for me. Watched him carefully and it was sinking in with the amount of steering to do. 2nd store was similar but had a huge yard to turn and position myself. Both deliveries we had to drag cages and pallets off to a scissor lift.
Overall not a bad day I drove well and reversed onto the loading bays at the depot with a few shunts.
Next day there was no one there so I offered to do some trunking and got sent to Lutterworth with a double decker. Nice drive and again reversing onto the bays was done with a few shunts - each time i felt it was better than the last. One thing i did on the way back is stop at a few service stations and reversed into the bays to get some extra practice. lucky it was a sunday night so there were plenty of spots.
third day was similar to the first apart from the fact i’d managed all the reverses.
after a 2 day break i was told i’d be going on my own. so 1st day on my own it was good - nice easy drops with big loading bays. The only thing that went bad here was taking the pallets off and i did my back in. 2nd day however they sent me to a very tight loading bay. luckily i drove in and turned the right way and i realised all i had to do from there was keep my trailer straight and i could line up with the scissor lift. the hardest part was judging from the mirrors how much distance i had behind me. this is where looking out of the window with your head turned really helps.
I was rather ■■■■■■ that they would give me a tight bay like this so soon. 3rd and 4th day was fine. today I had 3 drops on one trailer and thankfully it was all loaded properly. On one of the training days the cages were all over the place. the final drop today was my toughest yet - a blind reverse with a badly lit area to a downward ramp. this was a real austin powers doing a 100 point turn moment.
No crashes or hits so that was good. Reversing has improved though i’d still rather done trunking like i was told. I guess being shoved into the deep end made me swim. The great thing was that I was not rushed at any point. some stores had people helping me other times getting out and looking helped alot. it gives you more of a perspective.
The other talking point was the truck nav provided by the company failed once when i had a double decker. thankfully i stopped in good time and then it was a case of slowly reversing to the nearest street to turn into. Had to block off the traffic but I had no choice if i didnt.
The one thing i would say is that these companies are really wanting drivers right now and dont really develop despite whats said when you join. So when you do pass make sure you get whats advertised.