Been coming on here for a few months now reading various posts, has given me a good insight into the world of trucking. So a bit about me, I’ve been driving vans for Tesco for the past 8 years. The job is ok, you get to meet lots a different people from all walks of life and everyday is different but feel I’m ready for a change now. I see the artics come in the yard and think, I’d like to drive one of those one day.
So I’ve got my medical done, got my provisional back, have booked my theory for November 18th and feel pretty confident about all that. Will get my mod 2 booked too before I start any practical training. Have got an assessment drive in Chelmsford with Flair Driving this coming Saturday (I live in Colchester by the way) Was just wondering if anyone knew of any other reputable training providers nearby? Don’t really want to drive miles and miles to do it. I was keen to book with Essex Transport Training but they have a 4 month waiting list I’m aware of Peter’s residential courses too so that may be a possibility.
I went down to John for mine I live in the North East btw stayed over in the premier inn was well look after by John I can recommend him passed with with him he has a lot of time & patience ( had to with a woman next to him )
I have never looked back since I passed with John ( CE ) have alway worked mostly driving CE without a problem so go for it
Quick update. Had my assessment drive with John at Flair this morning. What a top bloke, seems very honest and a good trainer. Was my first real drive in a large rigid and it went surprisingly well. He actually took me on a test route and then straight through the middle of Chelmsford on a Saturday morning which was fun lol we had a chat at the end and he decided that as I have a bit of experience driving vans for 8 years and that I drove it so well (not trying to blow my own trumpet here he did say this lol) he could let me skip the first days practical which would also save me a few quid. Just need to pass my theory now, got that booked for 3 weeks time, fingers crossed then I can start practical
To explain the assessment process. Our courses are normally 4 days long. Most trainers have a standard length course to be able to quote a price over the phone or online. An assessment allows the trainer to make a judgement whether the standard course would be sufficient or too short or too long to achieve a good chance of test success
We use course landmarks where we expect a candidate to be at a certain standard at the end of each day. Reducing the course by a day means that somebody’s existing standard is at least what we would aim for by the end of day 1. We also look at the rate of improvement throughout the assessment to judge where the candidate will be at the end of each day’s training.
As for the cost of retest training, we include an additional day FOC for this purpose and this is still included if we assess a driver as needing a shorter course.
I’m aware of Peter’s residential courses too so that may be a possibility.
lol we had a chat at the end and he decided that as I have a bit of experience driving vans for 8 years and that I drove it so well (not trying to blow my own trumpet here he did say this lol) he could let me skip the first days practical which would also save me a few quid. Just need to pass my theory now, got that booked for 3 weeks time, fingers crossed then I can start practical 
