Hi all. Having just passed my test with 3 minors (yup, could have been better) I am wondering A. Can I drive before my licence is returned B. What type of work should I be looking for to gain the needed experience. And now I have moved up to Artic I am thinking of investing in the TT 5150 as I think its better value with free lifetime map updates than the 7150 & 9150.(hopefully to save any embarrassment).
Your thoughts appreciated.
Lucky for me there is a good transport industry here in Stoke and the surrounding areas, and I am considering trunking to start me off?
Congratulations on the pass - and yes, you can drive straight away provided that your driver cpc is current and the employer is happy with the pass certificate rather than the actual licence.
Trunking is an excellent start - especially nights where both the roads and some depots are a bit quieter.
Cant help with sat nav; didn’t exist in my day!
Pete 
Most employers/agencies want to see licence but these days they can see your details online - with your driver number, NI number and postcode you can access it and then show the prospective employer/agency
Hi buddy. Firstly congrats. New c+e driver myself still no work though due to leck of experince. For the tt 5150 i bought one last week of amazon seem be cheapest. Bought it for weight bridges restictions etc. Tryed it in my car as its use is for cars also drove few places and hasnt let me down. Hope works same when start work 
Thanks all for your advice. Trunking seems to be a well advertised job around here and also advertising newly passed, so I will start making enquiries later today.
davy1111:
Hi buddy. Firstly congrats. New c+e driver myself still no work though due to leck of experince. For the tt 5150 i bought one last week of amazon seem be cheapest. Bought it for weight bridges restictions etc. Tryed it in my car as its use is for cars also drove few places and hasnt let me down. Hope works same when start work
Hi. I am assuming you are trying local agencies? Do you have a transport industry local to you? I am very lucky here and everything is on my doorstep. Go visit places in person and let them see you first hand just as an introduction, then follow up with a CV stating you would be available lastminute.com to cover for illness etc, and you are prepared to carry out an assessment and training at a convenient time and free of charge. This approach resulted in me going down the self employed route with my own clients and not having to be reliant on the agencies. Good luck
Yes yorik bud ive been round most of them with cv etc with no luck. I havnt joined agency yet. Was going to once i got my sat nav etc. A friend of mine put word in for me in a haulage company near me here in belfast. I dont really want to join agencys at minute im still hopeing somebody will give shot at it . I might have no choice soon and have to join agency
If you join agencies and they manage to place you in temp work then that might open doors with the firms concerned. Worth a shot if you’ve had no luck finding permanent employment yourself.
Also guys, don’t write off jobs driving a rigid. I left a job driving buses to go drive lorries but the fact that I had large vehicle experience in any form only counted at the place I’m now working out of. I am however getting paid C+E rate!
Pallet networks are a good place to start looking - if you guys have a palletforce depot near you they may be worth a look! Not an ideal start I’ll admit but experience is experience after all.
Your right greeny anything is experince and any start will do for us newbies. Haulage firm 10 minutes away from me im gona try. My friend knows the owner. And my mothers work friend husband works there as driver. I got speaking to him and he told me to tell boss he would even ride shotgun with me for while show me ropes
Good luck Davey. Keep us informed. Never know we could be passing on the motorways. Lol
Thanks yorik. i know ya never know mate. If i get started ill let you know what and who im driving for. Give me wave
davy1111:
Your right greeny anything is experince and any start will do for us newbies. Haulage firm 10 minutes away from me im gona try. My friend knows the owner. And my mothers work friend husband works there as driver. I got speaking to him and he told me to tell boss he would even ride shotgun with me for while show me ropes
You’re a fast learner of the “it’s not what you know” principle I see
its even better better then if somebody knows somebody greeny