HGV Driver Career Guidance

Becoming an HGV Driver for a business is a good role if you enjoy driving from A to B, managing your job load, and time. You can gain your HGV licence for a Category C1 , Category C or Category C+E vehicle. Businesses you can work for ranges, from supermarkets, such as Tesco, or Courier driving, for DHL, Royal Mail etc.

To become a Driver in this sector, you will need to obtain the relevant licence for the vehicle you will want to drive. You will also need the Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (DCPC) which will allow you to drive as a part of your job role (for hire or reward).

Many logistic drivers have dedicated schedules, which is also inclusive of the Working Time Directive, which is specific to the number of hours you are allowed to drive. Having proficient time management skills, and understanding being aware of the schedules you are going to have will significantly help you transition into your HGV Driver career swiftly.

There will come a time in your HGV Driving career where a situation will arise, or something may go wrong.

From your sat nav being unresponsive, to a mechanical error, or even having to handle confrontation from members of the public. In these cases, you will need to think on your feet and come up with solutions. The matter of fact is that even if your Transport manager guides you and provides resolutions to solve problems, if you are halfway across the country, they won’t be able to step in and intervene.

Once again, you will be responsible for meeting your deadlines and completing drops and pickups.

You may also receive an allowance to cover costs for toiletries, parking and food if you are completing regular long-haul drives.

Within the road haulage sector, there are several opportunities which you become prominent after driving HGVs regularly. The longer you build on the skills needed, the more seasoned you will be, and the more confident you will be to take on more challenging roles

For example, after experience, you can look at becoming a tanker driver, carrying dangerous goods (Flammable liquids) by road. This would mean obtaining your ADR Vocational Certification. Gaining this certification will make you a valuable asset to other businesses to, as this opens up more specialist roles for you to be considered for. The salary for a tanker driver is around £29,000-£40,000 annually.