Hi, recent pass here looking for a bit of advice, after a few years in van driver/warehouse work I lost my job a few months ago and so took the opportunity to get my class 2 which i’d been thinking about for the last year or so, it’s something I’d really like to do long term and hopefully a step up from the minimum wage which I was on. I did a five day course and passed first time with five minors and feel confident in my driving but I know it’s going to be a long hard road now to find work! am I right in thinking agencies are the only realistic way in for new drivers? I’ve got quite a long list of driving ones in the birmingham & black country area but am a bit unsure of how to go about it so would welcome any advice or tips, thanks.
Welcome DAN1982
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Hi mate
a big well done on passing
Hi Dan1982, Congratulations on your pass and welcome to the forum.
To be honest, policy on newly qualified drivers depends on individual companies and sometimes the Transport Manager in that region.
Greggs The Bakers and Iceland are notable companies who sometimes take newbies - there are many others who will, but many more who won’t consider someone with less than 2 years’ experience.
I found the best way was to ring the reception of a company, ask for the Transport Manager’s name, then ring back the next day asking for them direct and asking them about their policy on newly qualified drivers.
I have found them all to be very helpful (which I was grateful for, as it was nerve-wracking "cold-calling them! 
) - even if their company policy meant that they had to say “no” to me at the time.
You’ll just have to let your fingers do the walking 
and keep on ringing round until you find someone who will consider you.
Good luck and let us know how you get on.
Hi Dan,
Give these people a try - Driverhire.
driverhire.co.uk/
I work for them.
They are more likely than not to take you on as you have driver and warehouse experience and most of their clients are in that field.
Dunno about the Class 2 field as I just passed mine too but having been with them a while I do have their confidence bearing in mind when I started I bluffed my driving experience and now have it all .
Downside to them is that you may have to expect a middle of the night call on rare occasions or get calls when you least expect them requiring you to go now and not later.
Congrats on passing yours man.
Thanks for the replies, I have DriverHire on a list of about ten agencies in my area, should I contact/sign up with several agencies or just find what seems like a good one and then move on to another if I don’t have any luck with them? all the class 2 jobs advertised on places like the direct.gov website at the moment seem to be temporary contracts through agencies, do the larger companies mentioned such as Greggs & Iceland tend to advertise their vacancies locally?
sign up for the lot.
You are more likely to get your foot on the ladder by being in the right place at the right time - not much help is it…
DAN1982:
Thanks for the replies, I have DriverHire on a list of about ten agencies in my area, should I contact/sign up with several agencies or just find what seems like a good one and then move on to another if I don’t have any luck with them? all the class 2 jobs advertised on places like the direct.gov website at the moment seem to be temporary contracts through agencies, do the larger companies mentioned such as Greggs & Iceland tend to advertise their vacancies locally?
If I was in your position and personal lifestyle wasn’t too much of a problem in terms of rent and bills, I would take on the temporary Class 2 jobs if permanency became a problem.
If my contract ran out there and no renewal, at least I could say to the next employer I have had experience working for so and so which would stand me in a slightly better stand than somebody who had just passed their test but not againts the more experience folks.
Then again if your personality shines and your face fits, you will get there.
Agencies cannot be relied on for work.
They are one stop shops who often forget who their employees are.
Hi Dan, and congratulations.
Try Robert Wiseman Dairies at Droitwich, they’ve been know to take on newbies.
Good Luck