Training Funding Question?

chrisb1357

Hi There.

I wanted to know if am able to get any funding to help me train for to get a class 1 licence. I am out of work at the min and have been from Nov 2008.

Many Thanks

Unstoppable_2

You mean Cat C+E (Class 1) HGV? I take it you've already got a current Cat C (Class 2) as you need to have that first before going for Class 1.

There are no jobs. Companies are laying off drivers left, right and centre and the agencies that are advertising don't actually have any work and are advertising merely to meet recruitment targets. Currently even if you get your licence, you've got no experience and you're going to be competing for jobs that usually require a minimum of 2 years with people that have decades of experience.

In order for lorry drivers to have jobs, they have to have something to deliver and currently, people aren't buying. It's going to be a very hard 12-18 months.

The last work I had was on 1st Nov and I've had non since. If you go onto the forums on Trucknet, you'll see lots of us posting that we've been laid off. It's getting so bad now, I'm applying for jobs outside of haulage simply because in my area, within 40 miles of my house in the last 6 weeks there's been 2 jobs. And I have a major UK docks 20 miles from me. Even drivers in Felixstowe are getting laid off and not finding work.

Have you worked as a lorry driver before? I ask simply because a lot of people aren't aware that the average working week is 53hrs excluding breaks, with many doing 60+, working up to 15hrs a day and not usually less than 10 and it comes as a shock to those who've seen the Clearstone advert which bangs on about 9-5 jobs and choosing your own hours. 9-5 is more likely to be the times you spend at home, not at work.