Help with LGV training???

slickc2100

Hi all,

My partner is out of work at the moment and he loves driving. I was thinking of getting him on a LGV training course. So he can have the experioence and maybe find a job in this field, as he really enjoys and has always done driving jobs but cant seem to find anything at the moment. Can you please shed some light towards which is the best course for him to do and is it even worth it???

Thanks

USM

Have a search through this forum for some similar questions, there have been a few recently.

The general feedback seems to be that there are stacks of very experienced LGV drivers unemployed in the current climate which leaves almost no opportunity for new drivers with no experience.

saintjammyswine

There are but there is also training available, which can be funded. Contact your local JCp and ask about any schemes they know of and then your local FE College. They often work together as the colleges can access funding (this could be funded) and the JCP will provde referrals from their customers. Also look at the Skills for Logistics website as it should list training providers near you as often private training companies will partner with the JCP and FE College to provide the specialist training. They are often linked to employability and general H&S, 1st Aid and Manual Handling courses.

Jo_F

You are looking at an expensive thing to do, with no guarantee of a job at the end of it.

He will need to apply for his provisional, then take a medical (around £70) and then his theory test (around £50)

Then start from the bottom with his Class 2 (rigids), this is around £30 an hour, and his instructor will give some idea of how much time he will need, then you are looking at around £120 for the test (and the same again for any resits)

Then move onto Class 1 (artics), again the same costs.

Not many places will take on a new licence holder, so he may end up doing agency work to build his time and experience up. The wages are not that brilliant, most drivers are only just above national minimum wage. Wages can be increased by doing overnights, which means you only get to see him at weekends as he spends the rest of the week out in the truck (so for that you need to factor in the cost of bedding, food he can take with him and cook on the road, camping stove, gas etc), unless willing to pay the rates to stay at services overnight (which most companies will not reimburse), he needs to rely on finding a good layby to sleep in. Other wonderful and not often mentioned things, like no shower/bath for a week, using a bottle as a toilet, only being able to clean himself with baby wipes, etc etc.

He needs to get totally upto date with working/driving hours regulations, tachograph rules, oh and then every 5 years having to do his CPC (unless he is lucky enough to have an employer that will pay that for him, then he's looking at another £200 or so)

It's not cheap, its not easy to get into, and it's not an easy life when you have got a foot in the door.

saintjammyswine

It can be done as an apprenticeship though, Driving Goods Vehicles which will include licence. Just need to find and employer. Again, speak to local FE college and look at apprenticeships dot org.

Hammyman

slickc2100 wrote: »

Hi all,

My partner is out of work at the moment and he loves driving. I was thinking of getting him on a LGV training course. So he can have the experioence and maybe find a job in this field, as he really enjoys and has always done driving jobs but cant seem to find anything at the moment. Can you please shed some light towards which is the best course for him to do and is it even worth it???

Thanks

No its not worth it. Firstly it will cost him approximately £3000 to get a licence, medical, weeks course and test plus he will then have to do a 35hr Driver CPC training course - he cannot be employed without a Drivers CPC certificate. And then he will find most jobs want C+E (artic) which means another £2000-£2500 to take that.

Once he's done that, he then is up against the "two years minimum experience" requirement of most employers and applying for jobs against people like me who have decades and over a million miles worth of experience driving all types of lorry, types of gearbox and types of load with excellent geographic knowledge.

And when he does get a job, he will either be starting or finishing between 4am to 6am, typically doing an 11hr day which can be up to 15hrs and if you've done a 15hr day you usually just get 9hrs off before you're back at work again. A working week is typically 55hrs but can be legally as much as 84.

...all to earn £6-£8/hr typically.

And believe me, after a few years of doing the job, he'll be sick of driving no matter how much he likes that now.

Hammyman

saintjammyswine wrote: »

It can be done as an apprenticeship though, Driving Goods Vehicles which will include licence. Just need to find and employer. Again, speak to local FE college and look at apprenticeships dot org.

Nobody is offering driving apprenticeships because there are 10,000's of highly skilled and experienced lorry drivers looking for work.

saintjammyswine

Not true at all I'm afraid. There is a huge skills gap identified between the time served drivers & operatives, management both white & blue collar and the new blood coming through. SKills for Logistics themselves have a large amount of data on this and there has been a massive rise in the number of companies not only taking on apprentices in the Logistics sector but also working on steering groups to drive the new qualifications and increase the skills level generally within the industry.

Jo_F

Apprenticeships in general logistics I can understand, but apprenticeships are aimed at school/college leavers, who are not old enough to drive a LGV, you need to be 21 and have held a full driving licence for at least 3 years.

Add into this, a lot of companies are reluctant to, or cannot afford to put under 25s on the insurance.

saintjammyswine

Again, a misconception. Apprenticeships are for anyone over 16 and they can start their licence at 18 on the DGV Apprenticeship.

tight_scotsman

why not go for a PCV licence there is a chronic shortage of bus / coach drivers i do coach tours all over europe and still enjoy it after 25 yrs no sleeping on the coach at night we stay with the clients in all sort of hotels ranging from B&B to 5 star country house hotels .you really need to be a people person though no special skills just heaps of common sense and a thick skin.

try all the big bus / coach companies they all have there wn in house training departments

hope this helps and good luck :j