HGV Training in West Lothian

COURSE IN West Lothian

Every day, there is a legion of workers who head off to their places of employment with the knowledge that the services they provide are critical to the strength of the UK economy. That legion of workers consists of the dedicated men and women who drive HGVs and PCVs throughout England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. They are an elite class of workers doing a job that requires an incredible amount of skill and knowledge.

The HGV Training Centre is proud to be able to prepare new drivers for long and rewarding careers through our HGV training in West Lothian and more than four dozen other locations throughout the country. We take great pride in the fact that most of our students pass the required tests on the first try, before going on to become productive drivers that employers are happy to bring on board.

What about you? Are you a young person trying to figure out what kind of career you want for your future? Or perhaps you are an older worker experiencing redundancy or simply looking for something new. In either case, our HGV training in West Lothian is the starting point for your career as a professional lorry or bus driver.

Qualities That Make a Great Driver

Over the years, we have done a tremendous disservice to the logistics industry by putting forth the misleading notion that professional driving is a career of last resort. It is anything but. The best drivers in the business have skill sets and knowledge not possessed by the general public. Anyone who thinks he or she can be a successful professional by virtue of having a Category B driving licence is grossly misinformed.

Just for purposes of reference, here are some of the qualities that make an excellent driver:

• Attention to Detail – There is a lot going on when you are driving down even the least congested roads. Professional drivers need to possess an attention to detail that enables them to pay attention to multiple things simultaneously. Between traffic, weather conditions, and just keeping their vehicles on the road, drivers cannot be careless in their attentions.
• Patience – Large commercial vehicles take longer to accelerate, greater distances to stop, and more room to round corners. Therefore, successful commercial drivers must be patient. They cannot allow traffic congestion to bother them, nor can they be dissuaded from driving safely by inconsiderate car drivers and others who do not know how to share the road.
• Driving Skill – Driving an articulated lorry is considerably more challenging than your average passenger car. The size and weight alone make commercial vehicles harder to handle. Therefore, driving professionally requires a tremendous amount of skill that very few people possess.
• Self-Motivation – The logistics industry does not put a supervisor in the passenger seat of every lorry. Drivers are expected to manage their schedules and complete their deliveries on time. This requires an attitude of self-motivation.
• Calm Demeanour – Commercial drivers have to be able to work under the pressure of delivery deadlines and government regulations. A calm demeanour goes a long way toward success in this regard. The last thing an employer needs are drivers who lose their cool over the smallest of things.

Our HGV training in West Lothian can enhance the qualities you already have through tailored training and practice. If you have what it takes to be successful in the logistics industry, we invite you to contact us for more information about our training programme.

What You Will Learn

The one aspect of HGV driver training most of us are familiar with is the driving skills portion. In other words, it is a given that the new driver has to learn how to physically drive an articulated lorry in order to get a Category C licence. We therefore assume training will include plenty of time behind the wheel practicing things such as accelerating, shifting gears, controlled stops and reversing manoeuvres. But there’s more to it than that. Driver training includes classroom work as well.

In the classroom, students learn about a broad range of topics, including:

• Driver regulations – drivers’ hours rules, keeping accurate logs, using tachograph equipment, etc.
• Use of equipment – safety features, mirrors and indicators, air brakes, etc.
• Driving conditions – safely navigating in traffic congestion and severe weather
• Vehicle inspections – conducting proper safety inspections prior to departure
• CPC syllabus – the extra knowledge required to satisfy competency mandates.

We thoroughly train all of our drivers using a fast-paced training approach that keeps training time to a minimum. Believe it or not, the actual training portion of our programme in West Lothian only takes about three weeks. An additional few weeks is necessary to account for government paperwork, the HGV medical exam, and theory test preparation. All in all, most of our students complete the entire process in about six weeks.

It may seem short, but it does not take long to learn what you need to know in order to be a successful driver. Remember, you already have a Category B licence to drive a car. That means you already know the fundamentals of safe driving. We are simply teaching additional skills and knowledge to satisfy commercial driving requirements.

We Make It as Easy as Possible

The HGV Training Centre was founded with the mission to train as many new drivers as we possibly can. To that end, we strive to make training as easy as possible for our students. Whether you register for HGV training in West Lothian or one of our other facilities, you will find that the process is very manageable and largely stress-free.

Making training easy starts with giving our drivers as many options as possible. That’s why we have worked so hard over the years to expand across the country. We are now the largest provider of HGV training in the UK with schools located in or near every major metropolitan area. There is likely a training centre located very near to where you already live.

Second, we make training easy and accessible by providing full administrative support from start to finish. For example, when you register for HGV training in West Lothian, we will immediately provide you with both the HGV medical and provisional entitlement paperwork. The medical paperwork will be taken to your doctor (we provide contact information for affordable doctors throughout the UK); the provisional entitlement application is completed by you and submitted to the DVLA. In both cases, our support staff will help you make sure everything is done correctly and in a timely manner.

Finally, we make HGV training in West Lothian easy by providing personalised support to each and every student. Any time a driver is struggling to master a particular concept, getting extra help and support is a simple matter of speaking to an instructor. Our administrative support staff is also on hand to answer any questions about training or to provide assistance with administrative tasks. In simple terms, we will walk you through the training process step-by-step.

Register for Training Today

Our size and capacity make it possible for us to start new classes on a regular basis. That means you will not have to wait for months to get into the next class in West Lothian. You can call us today and immediately be registered for the first available class in the area. Within six weeks, you could have your licence and be putting in your first job applications.

We encourage you to learn more about our HGV training in West Lothian even if you do not think you can afford it. We make it possible for almost every driver to get commercial training through our financing option. As one of the few training companies offering this option, we make it possible for you to undergo your training now while paying for it via manageable monthly instalments. There is no need to delay your career while you attempt to scrape together the money you need for training.

Your career as a professional driver is waiting. Register for HGV training in West Lothian today, and you will be working in no time at all.