Hello, I’ve been wanting to get into the road haulage industry for quite some time but with my current job (Security Officer) i haven’t been able to save very much towards the cost of the licenses, etc. A friend has offered to lend me the £2k (ish) required to gain my Cat C & Cat C+E, trouble is that there’s a catch - he says he’ll only lend it me if i’ve been offered an LGV driving job. I realise that there is almost no chance of this happening especially when there are so many new drivers looking for work who have actually gained their licences but i thought it was worth a try. I’m 27 years old and i’m currently based in Nottingham but am willing to relocate anywhere in the country. I have six years of road experience gained through my passion for motorcycling (if that counts for anything?). Cheers
Get a loan from the bank /government / charity or something like that and keep your friendship intact.
If I had the work spare I’d give you a chance mate but the work just isn’t there. The work that is just doesn’t justify the hassle of putting a bloke in a wagon. Everyone is running around for a squirt of ■■■■ to be honest even the big firms.
It’s a decent screw for me doing it myself but if I had to take your £600 per week out it wouldn’t be worth my while. I’ve 5 slots on my O licences & I’m only running 1 at the moment.
I’d say that even a firm which does take on new drivers would be unlikely to offer you the guarantee of a job two or three months down the line, the most you’d get is “Come back and see us when you’ve got your licence”.
Agree with Silver Surfer, above, it’s a decent enough living doing it for myself but not profitable enough to make it worth adding a truck and employing somebody. One day it might be and if it did then I’d have no problem taking on a new driver (I have two spare slots on my O licence), but again I wouldn’t be able to hold that type of offer open for several months.
Agree also that a bank loan would be better than risking a friendship, unless your friend can understand that this is a guarantee that you just can’t give.
Think £2,000 possibly a bit optimistic for getting C+E?
Good luck with it anyway if you do manage to go for it.
You could do this a cheaper way which would be to start at a company with a range of vehicles on a van or 3.5 tonne and work your way up ,quite often if you prove your self they will stand the cost of the training/ test if you stay after passing.
Thanks for your replys and suggestions, i’ll be pursuing all possibilities necessary to get that magical £45k Mon-Fri job driving a Scania V8 
Ducpusher:
Thanks for your replys and suggestions, i’ll be pursuing all possibilities necessary to get that magical £45k Mon-Fri job driving a Scania V8
Oh dear. £45K Mon-Fri… 
Another possibility of funding is a Career Development Loan:-
Get in touch with Emms Transport (Doncaster), they will fund you through your licences (to Class 1 C+E) as long as you’re prepared to sign a contract to work for them to repay their investment (2 Yrs, i think)
Downside is you won’t be driving a brand new Scania and you WON’T be earning £45k, the work is general haulage, mainly containers, and you’ll be driving/living in a beat up old Stralis, but it gets you on the first rung of the ladder and it’s good experience. Don’t know about the wages, but i would hazard a guess at £400-£450 per week plus night out money.
HTH.
Thanks, will be contacting them in the morning.
davester1965:
Get in touch with Emms Transport (Doncaster), they will fund you through your licences (to Class 1 C+E) as long as you’re prepared to sign a contract to work for them to repay their investment (2 Yrs, i think)Downside is you won’t be driving a brand new Scania and you WON’T be earning £45k, the work is general haulage, mainly containers, and you’ll be driving/living in a beat up old Stralis, but it gets you on the first rung of the ladder and it’s good experience. Don’t know about the wages, but i would hazard a guess at £400-£450 per week plus night out money.
HTH.
i would expect min wage or maybe £6.50ph as thats an agency rate. Borrow the cash from the bank if you can. Sell the car, car boots, ebay and borrow the shortfall.
My cat C cost £1600. C+E will cost another £1000 and thats if you pass first time. Digi card £38 other things like map, boots, work bag water proofs upto £100 and a half decent truck nav £200. Good luck boss from a Nottingham lad
As a security man I would look to transfer to a site who actually run some lorries, maybe you can get close enough to the boss man / transport manager and show you are interested, it maybe a start on a van or the odd weekend as second man on a 7.5 tonner