LGV Training Funding for unemployed ?

A question about : LGV Training Funding for unemployed ?

Hi
I was hoping someone would know if there are any sources of funding for training costs for LGV (HGV) training. I am currently unemployed, and have been since August 2006 when I worked for six weeks only. Prior to that I was again unemployed back to September 2005. As I was previously self-employed as a driving instructor, I receive no benefits whatsoever (unless you count the child Tax credit and my wifes working tax credit), I cannot claim contibution based JSA as I had not paid the right sort of NI (as self-employed I was paying far more that when I was employed but get no benefits from it whatsoever - SCADALOUS) and because my wife works full time I cannot get income based JSA.
I want to train to do my LGV, apparently there is a shortage of Class 1 drivers! It looks as though current costs would be around Ј2,500 or so. Having just remortgaged based on my wife's income alone we are currently as close to bankruptcy as we wish to get, so a CDL is out of the question.
HELP

Best answers:

• Fair do's if it may cost you £2500 - but I got my Class 2 paid for as I was 23 at the time so got paid by the EU skills council. That would have been £850, Class 1 I did with the same instructor but private again £850. So just shy of £1700 for complete training. What you also need to pay out for is the medical and theroy as well Providing that you don't fail your test. You can't go into class 1 direct no more, so you will have to do the rigids first and then artics.
  And this "shortage" - yes, maybe so, but its a load of twaddle, even the agengies are now not recuiting new drivers - I have been out of a job since Mid Dec and I have class C and C+E and no one is touching anyone without the 2 years experience. Jan to Mar is the worse time to be out of work in the HGV sector (I know and going though it now!). so it will be a great struggle on wages like £5.50 per hour for the first 2 years.
  What you will also find that the cowboys will want you to run bent (until your clubed up on the law) so be careful and make sure you know the Working Time Div and Tacho Regs.
  Where abouts are you? as Grimsby Job Center offers something on the New Deal package (I think they pay for HGV training) I would go back to the Job Center and find out.
  Good Luck
• https://www.ilascotland.org.uk/ILA+Homepage.htm
  hope this helps
• Im in the same boat asked the job center to help they said they can on fund courses up to Ј300 tried getting a CDL loan from the bank but they turned me down i know some companys will pay for ur lgv the u will have to work for them for X amount of years Eddi Stobart is one company that dose it but every company has put it on hold at the moment !!! i call round the local copanys around somerset see if any 1 can help me but i never get any luck :-( i hate it my friend works for a local company and they have just got 8 new wagans in and need 8 new drivers to drive them so really if i had my class 1 i could be working TODAY !!! arrrrhhhh but if any 1 knows of any way i can get my class2 and 1 please please please let me know
  cheers all
  scottie davis in bridgwater somerset
• I feel sorry for those who wan`t to take up the skill of driving due to lack of funding, BUT!! I have an LGV Class 1 license and have driven for 12 years all over the uk. I am no longer doing it now, Why you ask, well when you drive a lorry believe me you get treated like dirt by the other road users namely car drivers, Verbal abuse and sometimes physical abuse threatened, Most car drivers don`t realise we are only doing our jobs, What they don`t seem to realise is that if there where no lorries around where would they buy thier goods, the shops would be empty, Britains lorry drivers are the backbone of this country and should be treated with respect for the hard job they do, I don`t want to put people off learning to drive LGV but think about it seriously first.
  I am currently looking for funding for an HIAB course I cannot get any help from the DWP with the cost of the course, Because i am on jobseekers allowance, But if i was on incapacity, Which means being incapable of working they would throw money at me, But i am capable of work and can`t get any help. I think this government should get thier act together It should be people who are capable of work should get the funding, Does anyone agree with this comment!!. Please let me know.
• My other half has just gone through his, with the medical, hazard perception and theory tests, then the lessons, the tests and of course the use of the vehicle for the test he has spent Ј5,500 on it. (that included 2 fails and having to change driving schools just before his 2rd class 2 test), and the fails were unexpected as he has spent the last 6 years shunting wagons around.
  As he deals wtih a lot a trucking companies in his current job, I just asked him about the supposed shortage, and he says there is no shortage and the industry is expecting it to stay that way for around 5 years yet.
• I'd second that, Jo. A few years ago (4 or 5 if I remember), a Freight Transport Association survey put the average age of a lorry driver at 53. In 5 years time, a lot of lorry drivers will have or be close to retirement and many current drivers who don't have to take the Drivers CPC under grandfather rights will need to but with no certainty as to who will fund it.
• After 20 odd years of driving up and down the country, I left the profession 13 years ago and although I was disappointed to be made redundant, it was probably for the best due to the fact that when that door closed, another one opened in a completely different profession.
  I was very fortunate as I worked for two excellent companies, the last one being an 'own account' operator where I delivered our own products and did not have to faff on with return loads.
  This is my opinion, but I would certainly not recommend driving a truck for a living in todays climate as it seems you do not work for a living, but due to the nature of the employment, you live for your work.
  Don't get me wrong, I made a good living out of it albeit at the expense of missing my kids growing up, but I just could not do it anymore which is strange for me to state, as I still retain my class 1 or CE+1 whatever they call it nowadays even though I know I will never need it again.
  As many experienced drivers will agree I think, it may seem a great job but in reality, it isn't - although the younger people embarking on driving trucks for a living may initially find the nomadic lifestyle to their liking, I can assure them that the novelty will wear off as quickly as the waistline increases!