Hi just a quick introduction.
I’m new to this website and therefore looking for advice.
My main concerns are After Passing my LGV Cat. C Licence.
Will I get a Job ?
DO trucking companies hire new and freshly qualified drivers with no experience on the job?
How long will it take for me to get a job as a freshly qualified driver with no Experience in the Trucking industry?
And how did You get your first jobs without experience (i presume everyone was in my shoes before)?
Can i count on £12 per hour without experience Pay for starters and up to 40 K PA as Experienced ADR Tanker Driver ?As advertised on HGV Express website?
Is there really 80 000 new job adverts every day ? Or is it just a marketing trick of HGV Express?
Ps. Im prepared for my theory and hazard perception so far so fairrly confident i’ll pass first time at least the Theory bit.
Ps.2 Sorry for long post i just hope someone will help me here as I’m getting scared that my ££££ are gone and I’ll take ages to find a job and start in the industry.
I’m wording this carefully as I don’t want to get sued by anyone!
HGV Express are a broker. They hook you up with a training provider, they don’t do the training themselves. They have been ‘mentioned’ on this forum before. Read this please viewtopic.php?f=5&t=30889
I doubt you would be best served by using a broker.
The owners of many of the best training schools in the UK are members of this forum. The general advice on this forum tends to be to find a training company based on a rock solid recommendation, or DSA approved. If you post your location I’m sure someone will suggest a good company.
I think you would get a job if you are not fussy at the beginning while you build up experience or get in an agencies good books. Some do take on fresh drivers, skip companies are an example. No you cannot bank on earning £12 per hour at the beginning.
check out all the stickies at the top of this forum before paying any money for anything then check out recent posts by other newbies for the current newbie job situation
Can i count on £12 per hour without experience Pay for starters and up to 40 K PA as Experienced ADR Tanker Driver ?As advertised on HGV Express website?
Is there really 80 000 new job adverts every day ? Or is it just a marketing trick of HGV Express?
You’ve sussed it - not so much a marketing trick, more downright lies.
This is the truth:
A new CAT C driver will earn little more than £7.50 per hour.
An experienced ADR driver may approach £40k but that’s not you. You can probably count on a few hands the number of drivers earning this sort of money.
A new CAT CE driver - without ADR - should earn approx. £9.50 per hour. Expect £28k with experience.
These rates are not specific and there are huge variations. But they are more realistic than the nonsense on certain websites. Don’t expect to get rich driving a truck. You’ll earn a decent living and that’s as far as it normally goes.
How could there be 80,000 new jobs daily? Truth of the job situation is that, for the last 5 or 6 years, it’s been dire. But things are certainly on the up. Plenty of posts on here talking about the job folks have just landed. And it’s normally through footwork, going banging on doors.
Make sure you’re dealing with a bona fide trainer running their own vehicles. Visit before spending money and ensure you’re happy with the set up. The only exception is to book on rock solid recommendation.
All the best, Pete 
Not easy to get a job as a newbie but it can be done but you have to do the leg work for yourself
You probably wont earn £12 per hour depends where you live tbh as up here it is anything from £7.00 ph
Tanker driving is know as dead man shoes not easy to get into but again depends where you live
Think that HGV Express is a broker please avoid like the plaque go & visit several trainers before parting with any money see which 1 you like speak to the trainers see there vehicles
Not a lot of jobs out there but more than there was a couple years back
Thanks for all advices I’ve got from You Unfortunately i’ve already booked with HGV Express some time ago. Now im due my Theory and Hazard perception DSA Test on May the 15th.
I’m fully prepared for the test though got 100% in all 3 Mock DSA standard tests and manage to score 4/5 5/5 in hazard perception all official DSA Videos they’ve got. So i should pass with 100% marks.
I Also got this Driving school Confirmed by HGV express representative lgvtrainingacademy.com/
Please check it out and state what you think of it. its 20 hours training with the test day on the last day.
They’ve got modern fleet of vehicles which are all fitted with the latest color reversing cameras to aid training.
It is also one of the only schools to have its own reversing site which is marked out to the exact specifications of the driving test centre.
I think i was lucky there but please check it out and say what do you think of them all opinions helps.
Why oh why do people manage to get sacked into brokers and part with cash!!
You say you booked with them a while ago yet your theory tests are not until May !! I would be concerned if I was you. Can you in some way cancel and get your money back??
Why do i get the feeling there is something fishy going on here ref the op and his second ever post.
Booked sometime in March this year.With that said I’ve paid for Medical and already had Cat C Provisional on the licence at the time of booking. That’s what i meant a while ago.
Not interested in opinions about HGV Express. I asked for the opinion about the above driving school i’ve linked up there where HGV Express will conduct my Driver training and Practical Exam.
Not interested in taking money back as so far i’ve received good service from them.
Why should i take money back when I’m receiving good service and feel satisfied enough and everything is made for me.
Do not have to deal with DVLA to book my tests and do not have to Book anything they do this for you.
Plus from what I see here everyone is hating HGV Express. But i think this is for no reason as they take care of their customers as well as private companies with the Trucks.
Example. Tried at one school called them and one Lady picked up and told me that I have to do this and that and that after that and after that i have to buy a Book at AMAZON lol. And also the price £1670 plus price of book and dvd. Her voice was bit unpatient and i felt like in a dumb and dumber move. WTF am i paying my money for to do all that stuff myself ? I just hang up as that was so unprofessional approach not costumer focused. PS. She also said i cant start Practical training without full 35 hours of CPC done.
Example 2. Hgv Express Service Called up everything explained 4 Times with patience got assured i dont have to buy anything and everything will be done For ME by them. Got reassured that they got Fully interactive online platform to learn the theory with the Theory Master program to simulate DSA Test consisting of 100 Questions with same timer and all same proportions of questions from the topics in the test. Also All DSA Hazard Videos Yes the ones that are on the test to learn Exactly when to click to pass on each video. SO you go on test and just score 100 %
No surprises.
How do You call this not a Professional Customer focused service?
Hgv Price £1300 and reasurrance of help with finding that first driving job for £12 an hour he collected my CV for Recruitment purposes and promised to send it out to secure me a job paying 24K per annum. Also told me that he signed contracts with over 25 companies currently recruiting drivers.
Why don’t you go and visit the training site and have a look yourself?
Paul 
And now Back to the topic Could you please provide me a constructive feedback on this company ?
lgvtrainingacademy.com/
Please just constructive feedback on the topic NO Hate about My mistake or Hgv express unprofessionalism Thanks.
Your help is appreciated but there is been just too much of criticism I’ve bet my savings on them and I will do everything I can to pass first time anyway.
To Elmet training I Did visited that website and had a look myself and I think they are great company.
But just wanted to know what do You guys think about it.
Also If you think I’m defending them. I’m not its just my experience which is different to that of most that’s it.
I can call this topic a day If you like.
Just thought that I will receive support in some constructive way instead of downright criticism and spilled milk crying 
. That’s it.
Just so you know it doesn’t help and there is nothing i can do now even if i wanted to change my mind I want to get out of my current job ASAP. And i do not have time to go to courts and waste anymore precious time.
SO if there are any Kind souls that don’t mind helping not criticising my decision that would be appreciated… Thanks Again.
Let’s get this in the right order! Firstly, best wishes for your training. At face value the trainers you linked to look to be a decent bunch. It doesn’t look like the company had been mentioned on here before so I don’t know how much feedback you will get.
Not wishing to go off topic again, but to qualify some of the replies you have received, the broker (not the training company) you used was reported in 2011 for false advertising and (I think) claiming to be a DSA accredited center. People have long memories, hence you got a flurry of opinion!
Anyway, wishing you again all the best for your training. When do you start? Is your test center going to be at Culham or Swindon?
Tim
There’s nothing more to add to the posts that have already been written.
In the cold light of day advice is to keep away from brokers you are paying a middleman.
And the promise of a job at the end is normally bull.
I know you don’t want hear this but it’s the truth
Paul
I think £12 ph, as a inexperienced Class ‘C’ driver is to much to expect!!
All I know at the moment is that the Theory and Hazard perception Test is on 15th of May at Oxford’s Pearson.
All They have told me is that when I will receive My Theory Test Pass Certificate back i should call them and they will arrange a Practical Training at this company lgvtrainingacademy.com
I dunno my Practical Test Place location yet.
One Important question though. Will i be allowed the Reversing cameras during the Practical Reversing test? Or it’s only during my Training and Test Trucks do not have this feature?
I’m sorry but if you don’t know where your training will be at alarm bells should start ringing .
No need to get annoyed with everyone we are only telling you the truth. If you had done your research correctly you will have found that booking your theory was a 5 minute job online and you would of done and passed those by now.
I do hope you pass first time and wish you all the best in that.
As for the £12 per hr 24k job on class c…that won’t happen as that’s approx 38hrs per wk !! Earning between 20k & 30k is realistic for class 2 but expect to be doing between 40 & 60 hrs with nights out.
Look forward to reading post when you pass & then you can be honest to us about the actual training provider & brokers promises 
Dan17uk:
One Important question though. Will i be allowed the Reversing cameras during the Practical Reversing test? Or it’s only during my Training and Test Trucks do not have this feature?
You will normally use the truck you have trained on for the test as well. So you will be used to it. I don’t know the answer to your question. My comments are:
1 - the reversing test in a rigid is (by the end of training) the easiest part of the test and becomes routine. (I didn’t believe this either at first!). Trust me, reversing is not what you will be worried about by the time the test comes.
2 - The only part of the reversing test that the camera would help with is where to stop. For everything else, mirrors and hanging out of the window are perfectly adequate. On most training vehicles there is a marker you visually line up with the stop line, so the camera is not strictly speaking required there either. And you are allowed to get out and look once. So the camera is a nice toy but not required, so don’t worry about it.
All DSA Hazard Videos Yes the ones that are on the test to learn Exactly when to click to pass on each video. SO you go on test and just score 100 %
No surprises.
How do You call this not a Professional Customer focused service?
I get extremely annoyed when trainers make claims that are untrue. The DSA hazard videos have never been released so what is suggested is really clever!!
As for surprises - - wait for the test and find out!
Customer focused service?? Don’t think so. The only focus these people have got is on your credit card.
As for cameras, wonderful. Complete waste of time for the purposes of training.
Trust me, if they were beneficial, my fleet would have been the first with them to be fitted.
Fact remains you’ve booked with a broker. They seem to have sent you to a good enough trainer going by their website.
Fact also remains that I still sincerely wish you all the best with it.
Pete