hi everyone just thought i would let a few newbies know how i got from driving 7.5t to class1.
On the 30th of august 2008 i was made redundant from comet home delivery,where i had worked for 10 years delivering and installing domestic appliances in peoples houses and workplace.20-30 jobs a day with a 2nd man,the driver done all the installing,this was 7.5t work…the pay was awfull (16k) but the job and the tips wernt too bad,i was there 10 years so it couldnt have been that bad.on the day we got told we were gettin made redundant it was my wifes birthday (25th june) i felt like my whole world had fell apart,my wife was on maternity leave and due to go back in 4 weeks.i had a mortgage 2 children and a wife to support.
Initially i didnt have a clue what i wanted to do,since coming out of the army all i had ever done was drive vans and 7.5t.i enjoy driving and this seemed like the obvious option,i looked into paying for my class 2,class1 and my adr out of my redundancy money…i then stumbled across a welsh development ageny(w.d.a) grant which coulld be applied for and they would pay for training to help get you back into work,i applied and was granted the full amount,this would pay upto £750 for my class2,upto £850 for my class1 and all of my adr course including tanks aswell.I had to pay the money upfront and couldd claim it back on the production of a pass certificate for each course.I couldnt believe my luck,this was silver lining of my very dark and dull cloud.Iwas not going to let this oppotunuity slip by.i booked my theory and hazard perception tests,revised passed and was ready for my training.
i went to gatewen in Wrexham,i had heard good things on the grapevine about these and was made to feel very welcome when i went down for a assesment,and they sorted all the paperwok out with the w.d.a. My class 2 was booked for early sep after i had been released by comet.the pressure was on because i couldnt do my adr or class 1 without my class 2 so the first one was the important one,also i didnt want to be paying out for re-tests as this would be coming out of my redundancy money and this was all the income i had,apart from jsa.
anyway the week came and i had all in all a good week.test day came and i had a comfortable drive and the big "congratulations you,ve passed 
"
that was the first and most important part done,whilst my licence was being sent away i would manage to do my adr,and my class 1 was booked early oct.
whilst all the courses was going on i couldnt apply for full time jobs,i was working for a friend labouring on a few occasions to "help him out"of course i didnt get paid as i was claiming jsa.but jobs were thin on the ground anyway,the agencys had nothing, especially for a newbie.experienced drivers were really struggling for work.
my week came on class 1,thu fri 1 week then mon tue and test wed mornin.it wasnt ideal having a split week but that was the fastest way of getting my class 1 in as gatewen were really busy.the training went well,very well infact and i was quietly confident.i got those magical words again,i had passed…infact i had passed my class 1,2 and adr all at my first attempt.i was proud of myself.and still am tbh.
Now that was the easy part,finding a job was the hard part.I m not proud and was willing to do anything to put food on the table for my kids,even if meant not driving,initially my priority was to get some money coming in.i had a brief glimmer of hope through someone on here,a local haulier who took newbies on,trained them to rope an sheet etc,i made contact and went out for a day to see what the score was,it looked good work,but he didnt have enough work for 5 days for the wagon…anyway it was very interesting,but that day when i was out with one of his empoyees i got a call from my local fishing tackle shop,they asked if i would be interested in job in the shop untill xmas,like i said im not proud and a job was a job,6.50 an hour 35 hours,it was more than jsa so i had to say yes,but i told them i was applying for hgv jobs and they were happyt o take me on untill xmas or untill i found anything driving wise.
every nite i was on here,lookin for advice and learning as much as i could,atleast even if i was not in the inddustry i could keep learning.i stumbled across a thread about mccarthy haulage in wrexham,how they might be lookin for night drivers.i got a app.form sent out and i filled it in and was sent back in the same day…my work in the shop was also going well,they were extremely pleased how i used my comet customer service skills with the customers,i ve fished all my life and have a very good knowledge of match fishing and im a keen carper aswell,november flew by and xmas was fast approaching,january would see me out of a job again…or would it 
the shop hadnt hinted to me at this time but i had made such an impression that they were going to keep me on…but it wasnt driving and i longed to be using my HGV licence that i had worked so hard to get…then out of the blue on the 17th dec i got a phone call from mccarthy haulage askin me i would i be interested in a nights vacancy,an adr contract collecting clinical waste from hospitals…i agreed a interview date,if i was successfull on the interview it would be straight onto an assesment…i hadnt drove a class 2 since passing my test,i had to give myself the best chance possible so i booked a refresher with gatewen the day before my interview…this went well and i picked up where i had left off.
The interview went well and i was asked to go for an assesment with the h&s/company trainer,i jumped in the wagon and looked at the gear box 
oh my god it was a slap over…now i rememberd reading about these on here,amongst all of the usefull tips that rog put up.i explained to the assesor that i hadnt used this gear box but i understood how they worked.anyway it was a good drive,i took my time,apolgised to the assesor for appearing to be a little cautious but i hadnt drove on these roads before and he put me at ease and said i was doing well,my confidence grew and it was a good drive.i returned to the depot,shook the tm s hand and left knowing i had given myself the best chance that i could of getting the job.
On the 24th dec i got the call to say i had got the the job…and could i start on mon 5th 2009 you bet i could,i had explained at the interview stage that if successfull i would like to give the tackle 2 weeks notice as i am very loyal,they gave me a job when there was none,and i didnt want to drop them in it over the busy xmas period.i worked all of xmas and new year.they told me they were sorry to see me go and i was one of the best employees that theyd ever had 
but i was startin a new chapter in my life,mccarthys were payin 22,500 per annum for mon to fri nights,start at 5, job an jack roughly 40 hrs per week
I got settled in pretty quickly,didnt rush even though it was job n jack,i wanted to make a good impression,this was a good contract for the company. the job itself was easy,very physical moving about 4-6 ton of waste in wheelie bins off and on the wagon from the hospitals to the incinerator and the weather didnt help…but the pay was good the hours were excellent,a bad week would see me do 45 hours,a good week as little as 22 hours.the last 20 months has flown by really.mccarthy haulage mainly runs class 1…very few rigids and all the time these were catching my eye,i ve got this fire burning inside me that i need to drive class 1, but due to the nature of the contract i was on it was very difficult to get any training on the artic due to someone having to cover my shift.there were people to cover holidays etc but they too had their own jobs.the boss knews i wanted class1 and was more than happy to give me the chance, the 1 chance i had to get some training in,someone called in sick on my shift so i had to go onto my normal job 
…my time would come.
About march/april this year,there were lots of rumours going round the company that mccarthys sub this contract off.polkacrest had been bought out by sita,a big recycling company,and they wanted to take the contract back in house…and in may this year the news was broke to us that that as of sep 2010 we would be tuped across and we would become empoyees of polkacrest/sita…i really didnt know what to think and when the boss of mccarthys approached me on a consultation,he asked where i would prefer to work,i informed him i would like to stay with mccarthys, he said there was no guarantees,but where appropriate,and where he could accomadate people to jobs/preferd shift patterns he would.i wanted to be part of a haulage company,not attatched to a clinical waste with a few wagons…all i could do was keep doing the job i was doing,to the best of my ability,i hadnt bumped the wagon(touch wood)not messed the company around and only had 1 day off with sickness bug.i really did enjoy working for mccarthy haulage.
About 2 weeks ago i got a call from the personell department,they asked if i would be intersted in a job at mccarthys when the contract finished in september■■?..class 1,£45 extra a week i said yes straight away,i would be working on the gsk contract moving bottles of ribena and lucozade.it will be alot more hours but it will be doing the job that ive wanted to do since passing my test…class 1 this week i start my last week on the clinical waste,i will as asuall give 100% and then as of the 6th of sep i will be full time class 1 nights driver,earning 9k more than i was when i got made redundant 2 years ago.i enjoy where i work and the people i work for,my boss is the best boss ive ever had,the company is the best ive worked for,they have gave me a chance to get into this industry when the odds were stacked against a newbie…they are giving me a chance on class 1,the easiest thing would have been to let all the staff go across on a tupe,he kept 3 and i am one of them and for that will always be gratefull.
I have had a few opportunites in the last 2 years and i ve made the most of them,i was probably trying to rush things a little with regards to getting on my class 1…thinking about it im glad ive done 20 months on the rigid,i feel like ive earned my opportunity to get on the artic.The information,help and advice ive had from this forum has been unbelievable,i am in no doubt that this forum helped me pass class 1 and 2 first time and some excellent advice aswell from diesal dave when i was on my adr.i m really lookin forward to learning the job on the artic,am i nervous???you bet i am but i will listen to all the advice from the experienced drivers that i will go out with initially and i will never be afraid to ask a question,i would rather ask and get it right than dont ask and drop a bollock.
i hope you ve enjoyed how i made the transition from 7.5t to class 1,although not officially on class 1 yet,but i can almost touch it and cant wait.
andy
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