is any one sick of been told that their is a shortage of c2 c1 drivers I am I live in stoke on Trent and passed my c2 in07 still looking for work in 10
agency not bothered say the insurance to high no further training who!t is one to do to get a job any ideas?
It’s not uncommon to hear of new drivers not getting work straight away. But 3 years is the longest I’ve ever heard! It could be any one of a number of factors. Consider:
Are you applying for every and any job advertised? (Ignore the 2 year experience thing - apply anyway)
Is your CV presented well?
Do you need help with interview skills?
Are you actively “knocking on doors”? (Why should an employer advertise when there’s someone they already know of)
Are your driving skills up to scratch? (Maybe a refresher with a certificate might impress)
Have you completed a drivers’ hours/tacho course. (Employers will always prefer someone who isn’t going to put them in court because they didn’t know the rules) This will often count towards driver cpc which shows some commitment to the job as well.
Be prepared to go for work out of your local area.
This wont go down well, but think about doing CE. This will open more doors but clearly will cost money to start with. Could be a good investment but don’t go into debt for it.
Apart from the obvious such as making sure you turn up for an interview clean, presentable and on time there’s not a lot of anything else I can suggest.
Good luck, Pete 
Just keep knocking on doors and ringing companies up. Turn up on their doorstep on a Monday morning in the hope that someone has called in sick. You might get lucky and get a start.
I’m an annoying bloke (knocking on doors and calling) and I never gave up hope, it took me 8 weeks after passing my CE to get a full time job. I wish you the best of luck and let us know how you get on.
Gloria.
andrewwilliams:
is any one sick of been told that their is a shortage of c2 c1 drivers I am I live in stoke on Trent and passed my c2 in07 still looking for work in 10
agency not bothered say the insurance to high no further training who!t is one to do to get a job any ideas?
thanks I think the best thing to do is c1 and while saving, go for tacho/driver hour up date thanks for replying all the best for 2011
andrewwilliams:
thanks I think the best thing to do is c1 and while saving, go for tacho/driver hour up date thanks for replying all the best for 2011
I think you mean cat C+E, cat C1 is smaller than the cat C that you already have 
To be honest I would not advise you to go for cat C+E training or any other sort of training until you’ve found the reason why in over 3 years you have not been successful in finding some work on cat C vehicles.
In-spite of the shortage of work and in-spite of your lack of experience I would have thought that it was unusual not to have been offered at least occasional agency work if you have been trying since 2007, I would strongly advise you to look for the reason for this before throwing more money at training.
Good luck
A copy of this may help with driver hours
I remember when I was doing my class 2 training, there was a guy there doing his class 1. He said that hed been to the local agencies and that they hadnt got any work for him so he had decided to get his class 1 as well…
The way I see it is that if you cant get any class 2 work then you sure as hell wont get any class 1 work. Driving a van and 7.5T work is the way to go, then class 2. Nobody will let you jump into a class 1 without proving yourself lower down the ladder first IMO
Nobody will let you jump into a class 1 without proving yourself lower down the ladder first IMO
Sorry, but I have to disagree. I have plenty of former trainees who have gone straight to class 1 work.
I spend a lot of time on this forum trying to get folk to think positive. I believe that’s half the battle. If you’re convinced you won’t work then maybe that will be the case.
Currently there’s protests by students because they’re expected to pay their fees (once they start earning). Surely new drivers who have already paid their fees should have a more positve outlook.
There is a report in a recent Commercial Motor indicating that a genuine driver shortage is on the cards. Don’t confuse this with some inacurate figures given by certain brokers.
Another point that has niggled me for a long while is the “2 year experience” thing that raises it’s ugly head on a regular basis. Don’t be put off by this. It’s often claimed that this is an insurance requirement. Sometimes that’s true, other times it’s a bit of bull. Fact is that most operators would prefer to have a driver with experience - and who can blame them? Another fact is that a new driver will be in with a chance if there’s no other suitable, more experienced, applicants. So always apply. I have loads of anecdotal evidence that this pays off.
Aim for the moon = you may end up around the stars.
All the best for the positive thinkers out there.
Pete
again, thanks for the positive reply s, will put in to practice all answers all the best 2011http://www.trucknetuk.com/phpBB/posting.php?mode=reply&f=5&t=65532#