Good morning all
I passed my Class 2 five years ago, whilst contemplating leaving the Prison Service. I did a few weeks of agency work on my rest days, shortly after passing,
mainly doing general haulage, which I did not really like. I basically put the driving on the back burner and have recently retired from the Prison Service.
I now want / need to supplement my pension with 2-3 days work a week, preferably driving work. I am a bit apprehensive, as it has been five years since
I last drove an HGV and my CPC has expired. My first five years of CPC was all made up of HGV driver training, so I have never had any formal training on
Tacho’s, safe loading, driver hours etc.
Could anyone please offer some advice on what the best way forward would be. My local driving agency, Driver Hire, recently told me that they would pay for a
HIAB ticket for me. How difficult is HIAB work, especially with an agency, where you will be working with a wide range of businesses and with different vehicles?
I don’t want too stressful a job, especially as I am now aged 60 and meant to be ‘winding down!’
A friend of mine, also in the HGV trade, advised me to do my ADR. Is this advisable / beneficial? Also, as far as my CPC is concerned, should I be looking to do it
classroom-based instead of online? I’m just concerned that with my lack of experience, doing it online is not a good idea. The problem is, some classroom-based
courses do not necessarily cover the things that I would like to cover e.g. Tacho, Safe loading, Driver hours etc. I live near Colchester in Essex
I guess you could contact a driving school to day a day or two of a refresher to alleviate your apprehension.
You’ll need to renew your DCPC hours, easily done, you definitely need to do a drivers hours module and every training provider will offer that one. I agree that you’d probably be better with classroom training in your situation. I’m up north so I can’t recommend anyone near to you.
Agency will pay for your HIAB? That sounds too good to be true. Hiab work requires experience and a bit of problem solving logic sometimes, the ticket by itself counts for little without some experience, but if the agency will pay for your ticket maybe there is a job waiting which will give you that experience.
Easier to get ADR work than Hiab, I would suggest, but… is there any/much ADR work in your area? It does tend to be a bit regionalised, we’ve got loads of ADR work here on Teesside but a 30 miles north in Newcastle there is far less
HIAB work will predominantly be building supplies companies, so may involve handballing too, but shorter days and local work. Some people like it, some don’t.
With regards to the Driver CPC, I am not sure how far away Sigma Studies are, they are in Essex, Stanford le hope, or something like that, and do course all the things you mentioned. I would do a classroom based course, it’s just easier to speak to someone face to face and none of this connection issues or sitting in front of the worlds smallest screen squinting.
I have just completed my cpc online and found that it worked fine for me. This was the first time I have done cpc and I had no problems learning drivers hours etc. It can be a bit tedious being on a zoom meeting for 7hrs a day.
CPC courses are exactly the same whether done in the classroom or online in terms of the material and presentations used. The only real differences being that online courses are cheaper and can be done in the comfort of your own home. I’d recommend courses on tacho use, drivers hours and load security.
If the agency are willing to pay for your HIAB then it’s probably because they have a job that they’ve not been able to fill for ages, so it might not be a great job. It would also be worth asking if you would have to repay the training costs if you didn’t stick with either that job or the agency.
ADR can count for upto 28 CPC hours, depending on what course you do, whether you just do packages or if you add the tanks module. It’s usually worth doing both as it increases the types of work you will be able to do, although it will depend on what type of work is available in your area.
Just be wary of what training might actually be provided.
To use a Hiab or any piece of plant all that is legally required is to have had instruction and be competent. I could show you how it works, you demonstrate some ability and that ticks the boxes. Now when things go wrong that’s when it’s useful to have your drivers / operators certified by someone so you can swerve any blame.
There is no definitive ticket or licence, I could set up as a training company with no formal accreditation and print out certificates. Trouble is the only place it would be welcome would be the place that paid for it. I have a blue CPCS plant operator card for Lorry Loader (Hiab) it’s costly and there are various tests and such to pass before getting a red trained operator card then a NVQ and stick time required to convert it to a blue competent operator card.
It is unlikely that an agency is going to dig deep and fund one of these, they will most likely send you off for a morning with someone that their client will accept.
CPCS and NPORS are widely recognised schemes and with one of those you would have something worthwhile
The reason that Driver Hire in Colchester are willing to pay for your HIAB is because the pay is low (£12.25/hour) and the work is ad-hoc (you will get the run around).
Zac_A:
I guess you could contact a driving school to day a day or two of a refresher to alleviate your apprehension.
You’ll need to renew your DCPC hours, easily done, you definitely need to do a drivers hours module and every training provider will offer that one. I agree that you’d probably be better with classroom training in your situation. I’m up north so I can’t recommend anyone near to you.
Agency will pay for your HIAB? That sounds too good to be true. Hiab work requires experience and a bit of problem solving logic sometimes, the ticket by itself counts for little without some experience, but if the agency will pay for your ticket maybe there is a job waiting which will give you that experience.
Easier to get ADR work than Hiab, I would suggest, but… is there any/much ADR work in your area? It does tend to be a bit regionalised, we’ve got loads of ADR work here on Teesside but a 30 miles north in Newcastle there is far less
Thanks for the reply Zac_A. Driver Hire will pay for ticket, but I reckon it will be random work, all over the place. I don’t think there is very much ADR work where I live. Cheers
HIAB work will predominantly be building supplies companies, so may involve handballing too, but shorter days and local work. Some people like it, some don’t.
With regards to the Driver CPC, I am not sure how far away Sigma Studies are, they are in Essex, Stanford le hope, or something like that, and do course all the things you mentioned. I would do a classroom based course, it’s just easier to speak to someone face to face and none of this connection issues or sitting in front of the worlds smallest screen squinting.
Good luck
Thanks for the advice, Road2ruin. I will look in to the local courses. Cheers
1van:
I have just completed my cpc online and found that it worked fine for me. This was the first time I have done cpc and I had no problems learning drivers hours etc. It can be a bit tedious being on a zoom meeting for 7hrs a day.