hi all im new to this site,and need some advice i passed my cat c test on the 04/12/09 ,and am not sure which is the best way to start out trucking?have been told the best way to gain experience is to do agency work is this correct ? if so can anybody recomend some good agencys in the leicester area,im also thinking of going for a forklift licence to compliment my c licence ,is it worth doing this■■? also am not sure on the drivers cpc course,do i need to do this? i passed my car test in 1995 and have been told that i have grandfather rights is this correct■■? any advice would be greatly appreciated,dave
Hi Dave, welcome and congratulations on passing your Class C
I passed my C Class recently and in fact my C+E on the 4 December in Leicester so I may have seen you at the test centre (what time did you have your test?).
On the CPC, as you had your car licence pre 1997 then your acquired rights mean’t that you were exempt from having to do the initial driver CPC as part of your test. However, we all have to carry out 35 hours driver CPC training over the next 5 years. There are some exemptions and the whole subject is well covered on here so worth doing a search. I would imagine Rog will be along shortly to provide more info.
As far as agency work in Leicester is concerned, that’s what I’ve been doing since getting my C licence. You’ll have to wait untill you get your licence back though before you can register with any agency. It can take up to 20 days (working) but in my experience you should get it back within a couple of weeks. A mate of mine who passed a week last Friday got his licence back this weekend so it can be that quick.
When you get your licence, if you want to PM me I’ll let you know who to register with (based on my experience with agencies in the Leicester area).
. 
Welcome dave381970 .
Which school did you train with 
All the LGV TRAINING TIPS FOR C+E, including the Recommended LGV training schools that have been recommended by members, can be accessed by clicking on the link in my signature
THE DRIVER SHORTAGE IS AN ADVERTISING MYTH - Generally more drivers than jobs in the UK
However, many newbies on this site have recently secured permanent full time employment
A read of THIS POST may also be useful.
Forum with some useful stuff and Forum for questions on drivers hours
dave381970:
im also thinking of going for a forklift licence to compliment my c licence
C+E licence will serve you better if you can afford it
dave381970:
am not sure on the drivers cpc course,do i need to do this?
THE PERIODIC (ongoing) DRIVER CPC - YES but you have until 09/09/2014 in which to complete the 35 hours
dave381970:
i passed my car test in 1995
which is why you did not have to do THE INITIAL DRIVER CPC as you already have a pre 97 C1 LGV licence
dave381970:
agencys in the leicester
Here are just a few…
DRIVER HIRE
TAG
TFR
ENCORE
INDUSTRIA
247 STAFF
BEST CONECTION
hi guys thanks for the replys,there a great help,matt i took my test at watnall in nottingham,with dare i say it with sterling , can anybody give me a general idea on the cost of going for the class 1 course and who to go with,also does antbody know the cost of the drivers smartcard,have been getting different costs from various sites
dave381970:
can anybody give me a general idea on the cost of going for the class 1 course
about £800 t0 £1,000
dave381970:
who to go with
See recommended list via my signature 
dave381970:
drivers smartcard
there is a link to this and the application form via the link in my signature
hi rog ,how do i access the links via your signature,where is your signature■■? sorry for being thick lol
dave381970:
hi rog ,how do i access the links via your signature,where is your signature■■? sorry for being thick lol
It’s the bit at the bottom of this post that says LGV TRAINING TIPS - click on it…