HGV Driver can't find work

[Longbower]

I too received mine today. 

We need to remember though that the majority of parents want their children , to leave school , go to college , then on to university , to gain an academic

qualification.   Not , to become a 'Tradesperson ' as 'Trade was made a dirty word stemming back to the Thatcher days, or a Truck driver?

So , with young brits pursuing that academic route , we had to import the required skills from Europe. The fact they also accepted poor rates was an absolute bonus.

But the ,crazy thing was ,the British public decided they didn't like all these foreigners being here . So we decided to stand alone. 

So how many 18 year olds are now going to give up college, a gap year , and then Uni for 3 years to gain a qualification ,or their Parents sanction such , to drive a truck  ?

So where  are this pool of future HGV Drivers going to come from ? And could other non academic roles, find they are short, because people have moved on to drive HGV's?

As a country , do we not have to learn from this, that we all have a part to play in making the system work , and all those parts however 'lowly' they may have been regarded 

in the past , are valued?

 

[Mice!]

1 hour ago, Longbower said:

We need to remember though that the majority of parents want their children , to leave school , go to college , then on to university , to gain an academic

qualification.   Not , to become a 'Tradesperson ' as 'Trade was made a dirty word stemming back to the Thatcher days, or a Truck driver?

I don't know about that, there will be an awful lot of kids that will never see a college never mind a university. 

As for Trades person, OK we're in our 40s but me and my brother both went that route, as did a lot of lads our age and I'm sure a lot of kids leaving school and college will go down the same route.

Things like apprenticeships need to be available and appealing for the kids who won't be going down the university path.

Is there a minimum age for driving a HGV? I wouldn't like to think of a 17 or 18 year old driving one.

[Centrepin]

8 hours ago, Longbower said:

 

So where  are this pool of future HGV Drivers going to come from ? 

 

Quite possibly the same as currently, ex forces completing their service doing HGV as a resettlement course, around 60%. 20% ex prisoners being rehabilitated and 20% following fathers footsteps or thinking it's a career.

Most drivers don't start in the job untill at least into their 40s, as a second career, ex military or prisoners. Average age of an HGV driver is 55.

[HantsRob]

On 28/09/2021 at 13:17, Tonka54 said:

He made me pull over and stop whilst he checked this on his planner, then just came back and said ok then carry on. No apology, no thanks for saving the company time and money, nothing. 

To be fair he's accountable to the transport commissioner, and it's mostly their balls on the line (and you could get a temporary ban also) if there are any non-compliancies.

[12gauge82]

16 minutes ago, HantsRob said:

To be fair he's accountable to the transport commissioner, and it's mostly their balls on the line (and you could get a temporary ban also) if there are any non-compliancies.

I had no idea the levels of micro management and bureaucracy involved. 

[Longbower]

22 hours ago, Mice! said:

I don't know about that, there will be an awful lot of kids that will never see a college never mind a university. 

As for Trades person, OK we're in our 40s but me and my brother both went that route, as did a lot of lads our age and I'm sure a lot of kids leaving school and college will go down the same route.

Things like apprenticeships need to be available and appealing for the kids who won't be going down the university path.

Is there a minimum age for driving a HGV? I wouldn't like to think of a 17 or 18 year old driving one.

18 years of age, is the minimum.

[Mice!]

2 minutes ago, Longbower said:

18 years of age, is the minimum.

I would have it would be much older, needing driving experience from lower weight classes.

[Centrepin]

8 hours ago, Longbower said:

18 years of age, is the minimum.

21 years unless on the apprentice scheme or serving military. 

Edited October 1, 2021 by Centrepin
Auto correct spells wrong

[Old farrier]

11 hours ago, Longbower said:

18 years of age, is the minimum.

Any idea how much it cost to obtain your HGV and qualifications to drive a fuel tanker? 
also would be interested in knowing the timescale for the training 

many thanks 

of 

[Tonka54]

34 minutes ago, Old farrier said:

Any idea how much it cost to obtain your HGV and qualifications to drive a fuel tanker? 
also would be interested in knowing the timescale for the training 

many thanks 

of 

I would think somewhere in the region of 3k to 5k for Class 1 C+E assuming first time pass for theory and practical driving and ADR exam.  Additional expenditure for medical, CPC, Driver tacho card and tanker training, again assuming first time pass.

Time scale would be very hard to predict Due to Covid-19 backlogs, individual's speed of learning and availability of the appropriate course spaces. 

Obviously If an individual was lucky enough to have an employer pay for some of the above requirements, the cost to the individual would be a lot less and the timescale could be shorter.

But be warned , The overall cost, plus ongoing re-training and refreshing of qualification's, compared with achievable earnings ratio would not be brilliant.

Like I have commented before, commercial driving is more of a vocation, rather than a job in which you can earn mega bucks. 

[Old farrier]

18 minutes ago, Tonka54 said:

I would think somewhere in the region of 3k to 5k for Class 1 C+E assuming first time pass for theory and practical driving and ADR exam.  Additional expenditure for medical, CPC, Driver tacho card and tanker training, again assuming first time pass.

Time scale would be very hard to predict Due to Covid-19 backlogs, individual's speed of learning and availability of the appropriate course spaces. 

Obviously If an individual was lucky enough to have an employer pay for some of the above requirements, the cost to the individual would be a lot less and the timescale could be shorter.

But be warned , The overall cost, plus ongoing re-training and refreshing of qualification's, compared with achievable earnings ratio would not be brilliant.

Like I have commented before, commercial driving is more of a vocation, rather than a job in which you can earn mega bucks. 

It’s not really a viable propersition outlay compared  to earnings in the £10 hour bracket 

I can see how a shortage of skilled drivers could occur 

thanks for your helpful reply 👍

all the best 

of 

[Tonka54]

2 minutes ago, Old farrier said:

It’s not really a viable propersition outlay compared  to earnings in the £10 hour bracket 

I can see how a shortage of skilled drivers could occur 

thanks for your helpful reply 👍

all the best 

of 

Well for ADR tanker drivers, the bracket for earning potential is considerably higher than £10 per hour, for drivers with the additional qualifications of hazardous/chemical transportation (HAS PAK HAZ CHEM) it's higher still.

But whilst the wage issue is a problem of varying degree's , it's the accumulation of all the other issues that has been the cause of the mass exodus of drivers from the industry.   

[humperdingle]

1 hour ago, Old farrier said:

Any idea how much it cost to obtain your HGV and qualifications to drive a fuel tanker? 
also would be interested in knowing the timescale for the training 

many thanks 

of 

I’m going through the HGV process just now. It will cost roughly £2k for everything. Tanker work involves extra training which will probably be about the same again.

[12gauge82]

45 minutes ago, Tonka54 said:

Well for ADR tanker drivers, the bracket for earning potential is considerably higher than £10 per hour, for drivers with the additional qualifications of hazardous/chemical transportation (HAS PAK HAZ CHEM) it's higher still.

But whilst the wage issue is a problem of varying degree's , it's the accumulation of all the other issues that has been the cause of the mass exodus of drivers from the industry.   

It sounds like the bureaucracy and subsequent cost is the biggest issue. Hopefully with brexit we can eventually ditch the EU red tape coupled with higher wages and start attracting people back to what should be a well paying job. For what should be a well paid and respected profession. I note that accident and death rates involving hgvs went up after 1997 when mass immigration started, at a time it should have gone down considering they removed 7.5ton catagory from new drivers licenses. 

[johnnythefox70]

On 28/09/2021 at 19:41, spanj said:

Really in the industry ? Tele metrics …… (telematics). Bimbo in the office, that’s showing respect isn’t it. Get treated like humans by amazon, highly unlikely.  Do you know anybody who’s had this letter off the govenment? Am wondering when to expect mine 😂😂 

 

Yes i had the letter yesterday, im still in the game (but i dont suppose the government realise it) it was saying theres never been a better time to be a hgv driver now theres better conditions pay etc blah blah. Yes i got a decent pay rise but this is not before time. Lots of companys out there still taking the proverbial, there now the ones looking for drivers. 😃

[Longbower]

Having an ADR is no guarantee of obtaining employment in that sector. As you need further training on the equipment to safely connect  you vehicle to storage tanks, and deliver what ever you are carrying.  Eg ; A 'petrol passport' relevant to the company you are working for.  That's what the military have recently been training for.

As for passing you HGV Test, under no circumstances use 'intermediate' companies from the newspapers. As they are just middle men , sitting in an office , creaming money off gullible people. Go to a reputable training company , that has good reviews . Ask for an assessment drive, and a good company will assess your level of current ability , and the instructor will discuss with you how many hours of training he/she thinks you will need.

Cat 'C' intensive courses average 16 hours  . Then test.

Cat C+e depending on how well you can reverse a 'bendy' , probably average another 10-14 hours.

Always get 1 to 1 training , never two trainees in a cab at once . 

Only my humble opinion, and advice.