I’m not too worried, I’ve been getting regular work at the same company through Driver Hire. It’s class 2 but it’s as well paid as most of the class 1 work round here. I’ve been pestering the TM to take me on permanently, which he says he will as soon as someone leaves/retires/gets sacked. So just got to bide my time and keep my nose clean.
Once I’ve got myself in there, then I’ll see what class 1 stuff I can do through the agency.
I’ve got class 1, ADR, Hiab and FLT… Never used ADR, Hiab or FLT since leaving the army 5 months ago. Used class 1 on the odd occasion.
Apparently 23 is the magic number for class 1 round here, but to me, a truck is a truck, it’s the wages that count.
Phone at least 5 companies a day,
first thing between 9am -10am
It shows you are keen,
and maybe a driver keeps turning up late or on the sick,
and you phoning might make the boss
realise there are grafters out there looking for work.
It,ll also make you feel better because you have already done something that day
pro-actively to find work.
Take any driving job , it,ll put you in the market,
even if its 7.5 tonnes,
Make sure you get chatting to the companies you deliver too,
and more importantly fellow drivers
Its amazing how many can point you
in the right direction for work.
And it,ll break the ice when phoning for a job
if you start with a simple line like
I talking to John Smith one of your drivers ,
whist working for such and such
and he mentioned you might be looking for drivers
Finally
Only complain about no work,
when you are too hoarse to talk,
and you have bought up all
royal mails stamps
Aye im not doubting that its not impossible to get a start especially with a agency but my problem is that no way am i giving up a great paid full time job that provides everything for me and my family for a promise with a agency driving a 7.5tonne just to make hours up! i went into truck driving because i like the job and want to earn a living doing what i fancy yet i dont have the luxury of jacking my job in to get me on the ladder if anyone can understand this!
weekend work with agencies(doing whatever) is my path if my company refuses me a transfer cos of my age.
I never used to have any trouble finding work, but now its a case of trying to keep the job ive got!!!
With so many companies going to the wall, it`s hard for anyone to get a job, driving or otherwise, with or without experience!!!
Keep looking, try looking through the yellow pages for companies that may operate trucks, you never know your luck. Also try the agencies, although horrible to work for, if you are any good the may offer you a permanent position as this is the many companies are looking for decent staff (if they dont like you, they dont have to have you back and don`t have the hassle of getting rid of you!)
Try and be flexible with the choice of work, at the end of the day, 3 months working for a skip company IS at least experience!!!
bigcheese:
Aye im not doubting that its not impossible to get a start especially with a agency but my problem is that no way am i giving up a great paid full time job that provides everything for me and my family for a promise with a agency driving a 7.5tonne just to make hours up! i went into truck driving because i like the job and want to earn a living doing what i fancy yet i dont have the luxury of jacking my job in to get me on the ladder if anyone can understand this!
weekend work with agencies(doing whatever) is my path if my company refuses me a transfer cos of my age.
regards ian
by the sounds of it you have a good job already and if they will give you a transfer just stick around for a while longer, you dont wanna be on 7.5 ton work,mine now know not to come near me with it as the last time i had a go at them for it,
work every other weekend though and get some experience while keeping your other job. some experience is better than none,
i have experience in steel, skips and roll on/offs, tippers,wideish loads, flat beds, trunks and boring curtainsides, all in the space of one year.
is this all threw agency work gogzy. dont get me wrong i would do any work just to get on the ladder but i aint just myself to think of, is bits of saturday work (i work some saturdays) and regular sunday work hard to find on agencies?
i know this doesnt help with the under 25’s problem but it does get round the no 2 years experience thing
i passed my class 2 in november last year and class 1 in june this year, i have had about 8 runs in an artic through the agency and applied for a weekend job with one of the companies i did some work for on the agency (did the job just before xmas) and they only wanted 7.5t work. as the agency is slowing down now i am getting more work from the company than the agencies and they have class2 and artics.
about 6 weeks ago i popped in just to see if there was any work the following weekend and they were ringing round trying to get one of thier drivers to go away for the weekend in a rigid but nobody would do it. i said i would do it. the tm asked if i had a class 2 licence (i dont think he looked at my licence properly as i was only doing 7.5t work for them) and i said i had a class 1 licence. since then i have done about 5 weekends tramping and 2 of these have been in an artic, i am hanging on in there with the company as with christmas coming up im guessing it will get a bit busier. at the moment it is slow but if they ask me to do van work i will as long as it isnt stupid multidrop (by stupid i mean 20-30 drops a day). i dont moan about a job i just get on with it, i try to help them out when they are stuck (my full time boss is very very understanding about time off)
it just goes to show that if you accept 7.5t work you can get a foot in the door as long as they have bigger vehicles and like has been said ‘the right place at the right time’ does help.
just keep plodding on and look at driving the puddle jumpers with companies that have the bigger wagons until you get that elusive foot in the door/break through.
very true giblsa in some parts although everyone i spoke to say for example want experience on the class your appling for, so rigid work on a artic wouldnt be any use at all so to say, i think in your circumstance you have shown your a good worker and they`ve given you a shot at it. to be fair pal you need to give yourself more credit, i dont think the 7.5 tonne exp got you doing more seems like your attitude and hard graft did, nether the less seems like you deserve it.
well done
bigcheese:
very true giblsa in some parts although everyone i spoke to say for example want experience on the class your appling for, so rigid work on a artic wouldnt be any use at all so to say, i think in your circumstance you have shown your a good worker and they`ve given you a shot at it. to be fair pal you need to give yourself more credit, i dont think the 7.5 tonne exp got you doing more seems like your attitude and hard graft did, nether the less seems like you deserve it.
well done
regards ian
i believe it is the fact that i have the licence but i am willing to take a step down (no disrespect to 7.5t drivers here). i know we all want to go out and drive the big trucks, of course we do thats why we got the licence, but a lot of companies will not let you loose in a brand new fully freighted 44t artic if they dont know what your driving is like. if you prove to them that you can drive a 7.5t without bending it they will move you on to class 2. when that comes back in one piece with no repair bills attached they may put you on the artic.
if you need a foot in the door try to ‘help’ the company you are speaking to, if they want a 7.5t driver, become one for a few weeks and prove yourself! if a company can see you are a good worker and careful driver they may waiver the 2 years experience barrier. i dont think the 2 years thing is anything to do with insurance its just they want someone that has been driving for 2 years as they ‘should’ be a better driver than a newbie.
very very true if your moving up in the company much like im doing now with my firm although im not hired as a driver, but im thinking of bigger picture so if you apply elsewhere the exp on a 7.5 for a artic job wouldnt matter squat, i know a few lads who have got straight onto artics never driving anything smaller, i think exp does count a little bit provivg your a good worker and having the right positive frame of mind is worth far more, remember this day and age most companies hire on a probation period ( 13week usually ) so they can always get rid if your useless anyway !
bigcheese:
is this all threw agency work gogzy. dont get me wrong i would do any work just to get on the ladder but i aint just myself to think of, is bits of saturday work (i work some saturdays) and regular sunday work hard to find on agencies?
regards ian
yea its all through agency, though ive known the agency alot longer than ive driven for them for, used to be a drivers mate years ago for them.
but ive taken nearly everything they have given me, except hotpoint (no need to say why) when i started it was mainly store deliveries and double manning then i started to get out on my own then the good jobs started coming in. the steel job was for a week and i had never done it before but the job and the company were top notch, never had a problem with them and they were always willing to help me and even though it was a 53 plate volvo it was very well looked after.
bigcheese:
is this all threw agency work gogzy. dont get me wrong i would do any work just to get on the ladder but i aint just myself to think of, is bits of saturday work (i work some saturdays) and regular sunday work hard to find on agencies?
regards ian
Don’t forget that as soon as you drive a vehicle under EU rules ie.with a tachograph fitted, you need to be able to get in your legal breaks whilst accounting for ALL your work. So your “day job” would count as other work for these purposes, and you wouldn’t be able to work every Sunday - or any at all if you already do Saturdays and wouldn’t have time for a reduced 24hrs off (plus the compensation up to 45hrs for that reduction by the end of the third week following). An un-reduced weekly rest is 45hrs, and you must have one of those at least every other week (to keep it simple).
hi lucy thanks for your reply i already aware of this and thats why im want to go straight from my job into driving fulltime, i could do every other sunday at the very best. thanks
I hate this ageist thing as when a person has passed the test then that means they are good enough to go out to work - regardless of age.
The main problem with some companies can be the insurance.
I know we were quoted a good price for our trucks as a driving school but the stipulation was drivers over 25 years of age.
We told them that this would be no good to us as we get younger guys wanting to train - so they rethought the situation and then charged us another £300 per year
So maybe other companies have the same block on their insurances.
well like i said i work for a massive company so im hoping there insurance will cover under 25`s anyway if not im going to put forward the offer to pay the excess incase i crash, (from what im aware the premium is the same its the excess that increases) only time will tell and ill let you all know soon as they get back to me
