A question for all newbies either wishing to do HGV training, currently training or have just trained and passed at this time in this present work climate ?
Why are you doing it or wanting to do it ?
Is it because you think it might lead to a job or is it just an ambition to pass the test for a truck ?
This is not a question for ROG BTW 
I hope it doesnāt lead to more posts, I have spent Ā£1000ās on training and canāt get a job. Well thereās a surprise.
From being very young I have always wanted to drive a Truck, the current climate does not put me off as iām in a fairly secure job (at the moment, we did get a memo round at work saying wages would be frozen, better than redundencies) but itās been a child hood dream to get behind the wheal of a truck so I thought why not give it a go.
I guess iām just going to have to try every single agency I know, and also try any company who would be looking at taking on a new driver for any work they have available.
If there is nothing available at the start there is no point in losing hope, as i said iām lucky to be in full time employment so at least i have this to fall back on (watch this, iāll come in work tommorow and the building will have fallen down 
)
good thread dafman, ive bene looking for a job for 18 months now and i have experience, limited i know but more than any newbie will have.
if you really want to gte ur hgv licence by all means get it just dnt leave whatever job you are in cause you will not get any work.
if you havnt got secure work dont waste your money on getting your licence just hold off.
DAFMAD:
This is not a question for ROG BTW
Im doing it because Ive always wanted to be a lorry driver 
Evening all,
I passed my C last April after deciding Iād spent too much time not doing anything worthwhile (menial, talentless, min wage rubbish) and always deep down wanted to drive lorries but being from a middle class back ground I was always told to aspire to higher careers. The problem was, despite my background, Iām an average bloke with average ambitions and prestigous jobs eluded me-I taught English in Poland for 5 years; prestigous but the money was rubbish. I then got suckered by the ādriver shortfallā and am an āunsecured creditorā to Clearstone- I lost Ā£1300 to them but Iād decided to carry on and paid for another (Ā£1300) course leading me to my Class C.
After this false start I got a really good job locally doing multi-drop for Palletline where Iāve been working for the last 9 months till I got laid off last week. I wasnāt surprised to be laid off with things the way they are and donāt hold any grudges and I canāt thank them enough for giving me the opportunity to drive for them-how many places would take on a newly qualified driver 3 weeks after passing their test? And put them through the ADR course? I was very lucky! I decided to use my last 3 weeks wages to pay for my C+E which I start in a couple of weeks, the plan being being itāll increase any job prospects and I canāt guarantee to have the time or funding available in the future. I start on the 22nd.
Iām doing this because I started doing it and I want to see it through, I love being out on the road, I am proud of my roadcraft and the skills I need and use and more to the point, I feel like Iām doing something worthwhile. Not to mention that I have never earnt as much as I was before I got laid off.
Thatās why we do it.
At the moment im a wannabe driver, im just waiting to get my licence back from dlva with provisional cat c then ill be scraping the barrel to get the money to do my training. I want to do it because its been a life long dream, im mad for lorries and passionate about driving, im the kinna guy that rather than speeding past a lorry id rather stay behind just to watch it going round bends and junctions etc (i know its sad but thats how much i wanna drive them!!) Im kinna lucky in the sense ive got a full time job thats in no danger although its minimum wage, (i had to take this job after being laid off by Caterpillar) but my aim is to have both my tests by July 09, if its 2 or 3 years down the line before i get a job driving ill be happy enough with that aslong as i do get my chance to make a career out of it! Until then ill just have to be the guy that watches the other truckers in a pure state of jealousy lol
I have always driven extensively as part of my job (Sales). Anything up to 1,000 miles a week and always had great respect and empathy for truck drivers. Having been made redundant four times in the last five years (and being over 50) I have finally taken the hint! 
I joined this site in 2006 while then out of work for 9 months. Just as I was about to start LGV training, I got a job in my old line of work that lasted until November last year. So out of work again it is either driving a truck - or a till or shelf in a supermarket. 
I know what I want to do!
So, yes I know how difficult the job situation is (even for experienced drivers) but while I have the time and money I am determined to get my licenses so that I have another string to the bow when things do eventually pick up. Even if I can get a job in the industry I came from (and thatās a big āIfā) I will be prepared next time Iām dumped on the street!
For those that have asked before, no-one made false claims to me about getting jobs or shortages of drivers but thatās mainly because this forum kept me in touch with reality. I also chose the training departments of two large companies in the transport industry (though paying my own way at the going c. Ā£2k rate, C and C+E) for both C and C+E courses on the basis that in better times there was a good chance of a job-offer with both them at the end of a successful pass, even for a newbie (they prefer their in-house-trained drivers). That route is pretty unlikely now too, but I felt the best option. 
Passed my C at Swynnerton (Staffs) two weeks ago and start mt C+E next Tuesday. 
God luck to you all
Neil
my employer laid 18 out of 30 off due to economic slow down including lorry driver as they had decided not to keep the lorry as it was less economic than using carriers.
They then tried to sell the lorry and as it was a 1 year old 4x2 noone wanted it, they worked out by the time they had paid off the contract and taken a loss on the vehicle it would be the same as running it for nearly a year.
So in an attempt to make myself more valuable and less likely to be laid off i offered to drive the lorry. They paid for an intensive course, I start my c+e training on the 10th and test is on the 14th.
Had a play with the lorry the other day and this is what happened, was supposed to be next to the 3 silos, wish me luck, iām going to need it
Hi guys
All i would like to say is if you really want to drive trucks then go for the test and fulfill your ambition. I know there aint that many jobs out there at the moment but surely we can hope for better times? The industry has changed so much in the 12 years i have been in it and things like parking and the lack of it has got worse but the likes of the digi card to make compliance off the law better and the standard of trucks has been an improvement so all i can say is , go for it and keep the hope up that the job you crave for will come round your way!!
I know its easier said than done and i am lucky not to have been out of work in transport but i have done many a crap job to keep the wheels turning.
Always wanted to drive a truck since being smaller than I am now, just been in the wrong place at the wrong time to do it, now I have my class 1 its something Iām very proud to have, even if Iāve not got years of experience yet.
I have a long term plan, itās going to be a long tough road to the result but here goes:
I have a barn in Correze, France, I love it, I lived there for 10 months a year and a bit ago, it is a very special place for me. but it is in a very rural area.
Ah, but I noticed NDās are always looking for drivers in a city some 40 miles from my barnā¦
Just C+E, FIMO and some experience needed.
Strangely there is a NDās in Melton too, oh hum, guess whoās going to get hassled come March.
I have been reading all the posts from truckers in France and it is going to be very hard, but I shall never give up hope.
FIMO?? Please?
Keep the dream - I do,
Neil
Itās the French equivalent of the CPC, ADR and other bits and bobs all rolled into a 4 week course.
Only relevant in France, but a huge obstacle never the less.
I canāt imagine life without an ambition, I will never give up. 