HGV licence is it worth it at 21 re insurance ?

Lizzy

My son is 20 and is trying really hard to find work without success.
He has been to college for 3 years bricklaying but nobody is prepared to take him on.
Meanwhile he has worked at the PDSA charity shop and done every job there including driving the transit van. This was to collect the charity bags etc. He enjoyed all aspects of the work but NEEDS TO BE PAID so had to leave as they could not offer paid employment.

He enjoys driving and I was wondering if it was worth putting him through his HGV at considerable cost to us. He will be 21 this August. Would employers consider this too young re insurance and he would still be left on the shelf unemployed ?

Thanks

saintjammyswine

you can get a Driving Goods Vehicles Apprenticeship which can inlcude the HGV licence as part of the framework. Would be worth looking at the Skills for Logistics website and either contacting them (they are the Subject Sector Area for Logistics) or looking for training provider or your local college.

Emma_N

Lizzy, my younger sister sat and passed her HGV test last year aged 21 and has been unable to find anyone willing to employ her as the insurance costs are too high. I think a few told her to come back when she's 25!

Hammyman

Competely and utterly pointless. He would have to spend £1000's to get his HGV licence and Driver CPC and he would be someone with no experience looking for work at a time when tens of thousands of HGV drivers with decades and millions of miles under their belts are also looking for work.

Also, its not like driving a van for the PDSA. It is a 50+hr week, usually starting or finishing between 4-6am in the morning and an average 11hr day but could be as high as 15hrs. Overtime is not voluntary - it is expected. If you have the hours to legally drive, you're expected to.

Incyder

Ive got hgv1 and dont use it anymore and never will. The job is a nightmare these days with all the traffic and bosses tracking your every move with satnavs and stuff. There are also LOADS of foreign drivers living here now who will work all the hours for minimum wage so that has brought hgv wages down.
I'd say forget it 100%.

Better he buys a 7 yr old ford transit and starts his own man and van business helping shops do deliveries and people moving house , Ive made some good money that way and would choose it again over driving a lorry anyday.

antenna

With a HGV or PCV license you have to start at the bottom,if you can get into a company with smaller vans and hgv trucks you can get experience and work your way up and by the time you are 25 you will be a trusted employee driving the hgv's........similar with a PCV license,no company is going to let you do private hire work like tours/holidays until you have prooved yourself,you will start doing school runs in smaller vehicles on a part time basis for peanuts.I have done both but i prefered HGV best but it is horses for courses.

antenna

Incyder is dead right tho'...........Tacho's, Speed Camera's mean it can be a short life for drivers these days

paddedjohn

I would personally suggest going for it, its a skill for life as long as he doesnt mind hard work, but i would also put him through a full adr course as it will widen his scope for work. As stated above it is hard work and not a career for most.
To get experience he should sign for an agency, there is plenty of work if you look depending on where you live.

Lizzy

Thanks everyone. It seems like a non starter unless you are put through your HGV while you are learning the job (army etc).
His age and as mentioned foreign workers and unemployed drivers already. It is such a shame watching him slowly get lower and lower when employers don't even reply. They should not be allowed to advertise jobs if they are not prepared to reply.
It is amazing how the PDSA can insure a 19/20 year old to drive the van but not pay him to do the job. He did cause a bit of a stink about it because they were asking him to do too much for NOTHING. The PDSA and other charities use elderly, disabled, mentally ill people and criminals on community service to work in their shops and expect my son to WATCH them. This is of course fine but I certainly know they were rubbing their hands when they got someone who could take on the responsibility of the shop, given keys, money to bank and the van. He has been awarded many certificates for his voluneering and was given one from the Mayor. My son refused to drive for them so they paid an agency to do it. Shame on the PDSA.....

Sorry about my rant folks, it's just an unfair world and I feel sorry for him.

dickydonkin

Hammyman wrote: »

Competely and utterly pointless. He would have to spend £1000's to get his HGV licence and Driver CPC and he would be someone with no experience looking for work at a time when tens of thousands of HGV drivers with decades and millions of miles under their belts are also looking for work.

Also, its not like driving a van for the PDSA. It is a 50+hr week, usually starting or finishing between 4-6am in the morning and an average 11hr day but could be as high as 15hrs. Overtime is not voluntary - it is expected. If you have the hours to legally drive, you're expected to.

And not forgetting that many employers implement a 24/7 operation which for many drivers will require their working week to start on a mid weekday (or night) which means their drivers work weekends for no extra money.

I have to agree with Hammyman - his comments may appear negative but are realistic nonetheless - and I reckon we have both clocked up a few miles over the years driving trucks for a living - and we now have both different careers which should tell you something.

Save your money and consider another career if your son believes that there are similarities between driving a van for a few hours a day and making a career as a professional LGV driver - because the reality is that there isn't.

This is of course fine but I certainly know they were rubbing their hands when they got someone who could take on the responsibility of the shop, given keys, money to bank and the van. He has been awarded many certificates for his voluneering and was given one from the Mayor.

It seems like your son has been taken advantage of, but based on your above quote, he seems a responsible person and there will be an employer somewhere who will note your sons charity work and hopefully offer him a role. What you have quoted above will format well onto his CV without a doubt.

Hope he gets a suitable role soon - good luck.

Arg

Ive got hgv1 and dont use it anymore and never will. The job is a nightmare these days with all the traffic and bosses tracking your every move with satnavs and stuff. There are also LOADS of foreign drivers living here now who will work all the hours for minimum wage so that has brought hgv wages down.

I wonder how much it costs to get a foreign license.