Soo,, good and bad news

NEW AND WANNABE DRIVERS (INTERACTIVE)
1

Soo,%20g

greetings all,
first off, my sincere apologies to people I was talking to here a few months ago before i dropped off the grid, I’m not ignoring y’all, its been crazy here.
good news, I’m a father, little Elizabeth is now 2 and a bit months old and breaks daddys heart every time she smiles at him.
Also, I passed my Cat C June/JUly as you know, picked up work with kuehne Nagel (via agency) about a week after my CPC MOD4 was done, so all good, however not much driving was done with them as they mainly run urban artics, the rigids they run are tiny, straight 6 gearboxes which is weird.
Update, hours went down so I went upstirs in the yard at witham and talked to Welch’s, (score) even with my lack of experience I was taken on, runnning powder tankers, and thats what ive been doing the last few months. long hours, not great pay buut at this stage in the game you take what you can right? and i’ve gotta say damm but I loved it!
The bad news, my trucks being taken off the road and I’ve just been made redundant, I’m sticking my head into Simarco’s office one evening this week, (on the same industrial estate) and asking and I think there’s a Bartrums depot close buy to go talk to also. Does anyone know anything else in essex, Living in braintree now (thank god we got out of the inlaws) but obviously a commute is possible.
Additionally, my dads making noises about fronting me the money for my class 1 test again, as it may make me more employable,what are peoples opinions on that, C2, i can call a good 4 moths experience (maybe fudge it a little higher but , thats not honest) with powder tanker work so obviously used to maneouvring in tight spaces with a rigid, (8 wheel), would having a class 1 but no experience detract?

Thanks

Ste

2

You could try Steve Prince in Braintree spt-uk.com/ However their vacancies section of the site does say they are looking for Class 1 drivers.

In Essex the best area is Thurrock / Purfleet. A drive around that area and you will see literally dozens of haulage companies inc Stobarts in Aveley. We were recently contacted by a guy who failed his driving assessment at Stobarts because his reversing was not up to scratch but he was newly qualified.

We have done training for Simarco and I know they have taken newly qualified people on. The last guy we trained was working in their warehouse but he had been promised driving work with them after passing.

As for having a class 1, obviously it opens a whole new world of possibilities but you have to balance the cost against future earnings. You could at least book a few assessment drives to get an accurate quote of the cost involved.

Good luck

3

Hey John,
sorry I never got back to you on my other posts, as you can imagine, baby, plus moving house, plus first job. it all went a bit crazy (my two girls are at grandmas and grandads tonight so im indulging in a bottle of wine and not doing much)
I’ve a mate who I worked on the drays with whos driving for prince’s so he put a word in for me and gave me a contact however they’ve absolutely nothing at the moment. obviously we’ve swapped details and he say’s he’ll ring if anything comes up. Simarco’s I still need to stick my head into, possible xmas cover has been offered by parcelforce, (vans/7.5t)
purfleets a fair distance away for commute each mornings, have to be pretty decent wages to justify the fuel bills but again, its worth a look. my other alternative is looking further north as I want to move that way anyway. Also I thought stobarts only ran artics? and yes the trucks are nice, uniform benefits etc but apparently the pays crap?
Also, working with one of your ex students I think, bloke named john, did his test early last year.
So thats good news for you, one guy you trained, and another you helped out with advice both got work:)

Cheers

4

Bartrums are on the Rivehall to Tiptree road just by the narrowish bridge on the left.

I’d hang fire with spending the cash at the moment and try your luck finding some good class 2 work, you may not have tons of experience but what you’ve been doing isn’t a doddle so that may go in your favour.

I know that Milbrooke Motors at Rettendon had a sign out a while ago looking for class 2, he certainly used to take new drivers. Kent foods in Chelmsford are often looking for drivers on class 2 but I think that will entail a fair amount of nights out which I’m guessing are not really what you or your family need right now.

You seem to have the right idea about looking for work rather than looking in the paper, go out and knock on some doors and talk to people. If you are not too fussy about what sort of work and just need something, then skip hire, scrap metal bin companies are worth callin at. It’s hardly a dream job so not that many people go chasing work there.

Best of luck, if I see or hear anything I’ll let you know.

5

Hey Stehinch,

Unfortunately I am not a fully fledged lorry driver, as I don’t use my licence properly at the moment, as 8 wheels has spoken very kindly to me already on one of my posts, with some really good advice (I’m considering HIAB over ADR now) as I’m a measuring stick bod (engineer) at the moment.

I used to have a very good friend called Kevin, who worked for Simarco, think he started when they did (the company), unfortunately he died in 2009, but he raved about the place and I did as many runs as I could with him on my days off when he was local. Very friendly place, as was the owner, she had no problems with me watching and assisting, I think her name was Karen, but I can’t be sure, so check it out before you ask for that name! I’d hate for you to get it wrong on my failing memory.

Was thinking how about Hamblion in Colchester (but understand that is quite a trek from Braintree).

Also what about DW Clark & Sons Ltd in Tolleshunt Major? Another trek.

Trying to think of a few others but unsure, what about Brakes (New Dukes Way) and DBC, Perspex Distribution, Greenhams (Sheepcotes Industrial Estate - Lonebarn Link) in Chelmsford. All mainly running rigids, most seem to be working in the early morning when I’m driving to sites.

TMC (The tippers in Witham, seen quite a few of them running around on sites I have been working on recently).

I saw Brakes today, whilst working down at the DEFRA offices and they had a sticker on the back of the lorry about driving opportunities (not sure how old), but I didn’t get a chance to speak to the driver about them as he was on his ear piece talking.

If anymore come to mind or I see anything I will tip you off, PM style.

BUT definitely get down to Simarco as soon as possible (when the office opens, even though it is a 24 hour operation!) Majority of drivers have a few nights out a week. Get down there around 6am if you can as that’s when quite a few of the local dropping lorries are being loaded up for the day.

Best of luck and get straight on the horse to success bud! :sunglasses:

As for Class 1 training, unsure what to say as I don’t know your financial status to advise (and wouldn’t want to pry). Only you can decide what you can afford, but make sure it is free money in your life savings and have some spare in case you need to retest and have a few hours behind the wheel prior retest. And if you don’t need it at least you have some new clothes allowance etc to spend on family and yourself, good times!

As for newbies on Class one, the last company I knew of in Chelmsford that was doing that was Aldi where my Dad works but they’ve really changed the shifts recently and the newbies were only being put on the night shifts which started at midnight! But last month they took 5 newbies on, but again you have to be prepared to load yourself at depot and unload at all the stores and some drivers do not like having to do that. But hence that’s why Aldi’s prices are low and wages are reasonable, as they cut their labourforce to the bare minimum.

I hope something in here can give you a few ideas.

Let us know how you are getting on soon

Best luck and regards

C

6

Hi Stehinch,

The lady in charge at Simarco was Nina Hart. You might also try to and speak to Craig Rowley, the transport manager. he trained for his Class 1 with us and passed on 03/11/10 so you can see his picture on our students gallery. He seemed a good lad so perhaps…

If I hear anything I will let you know

7

I did DBC as a new driver and I know that Brakes also accept new drivers, vacancies are quite common in both places. It’s not a bad job but there are undoubtedly better out there. Typical DBC run would be an early start 04.30 / 0500 grab keys, check vehicle, unplug fridge and check temp, trundle off for 20 odd deliveries to schools, factories, prisons, hosiptals in Essex, Kent, London etc. Also did some butchers shops and there were a few London Cafe Nero runs of approx 22/23 shops each. Each drop would / could be a mix of chilled / frozen / ambient goods. Bigger drops you could wheel a cage in and collect an empty most would involve a fair amount of handball into kitchens and stores sometimes even having to put stuff in fridges :unamused: One drop in Newham was about 4 cages of drinks and 2 of crisps up two flights of stairs.

Finish delivering, head back empty wagon of cages & returns and help reload for next day. Fuel up, park up, plug in fridge and check temps.

Good days could be 2pm finish, often 3.30 or 4pm though. Paid for approx 48hrs, if you could do the job in less you won, usually you’d get close and break even. Overtime was only paid if you went over the 48 across the week, have a bad day and do a 13hr shift and they’ll probably engineer it to give you a 7 tomorrow. Overtime was a joke as the hourly rate wasn’t that great and you’d have to do a lot of work to earn an extra tenner in a week.

However it is a good way to learn the ropes and gain exerience if needed. Both of you Essex lads sound fairly credible as potential employees so you may come up trumps with a easier / better job. Shame you’re both in the same sort of area looking for the same type of work at the same time.

Best of luck to you both and as said before I’ll keep an ear to the ground.

8

Hey Stehinch and 8wheels,

Stehinch,told you not to trust my memory with names,thank John for correcting me! I’m 31 and my memory is already shot! :blush:

Did you get to Simarco today!

Also just to put your mind at rest I’m saving for 9 months of living costs and also some extra training tickets that I can afford and want to do at this current time.Just to make sure me and the Mrs are safe should anything change in current climate.

With that in mind I don’t think I’ll be in the employment market for at least another 18 months! :-S So lets hope we get you in first!

8wheels thanks for thinking of me for jobs.That’s really good of you! :smiley:

But I’m just concentrating on saving and getting some tickets before I start to plan my departure.But be warned when I’m looking I’ll be querying all in Essex Hahaha :smiley:

Let us know how its all going Stehinch when you have a free minute!

C

9

Milbrooke Motors at Rettendon have deffo got a sign out for Class 2 drivers, been up and down that road today

01245 400696

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I saw a sign this morning while driving on m25, the new Tesco RDC at Enfield are advertising for class 2 drivers. If you dont mind travelling it could be worth a look…