If you are looking for excellent HGV driver career development opportunities, then you have certainly chosen the right industry.
A tried and tested HGV career path starts from Delivery Driver through to HGV Driver. As a HGV Driver you can expect to earn around £28,000 per year rising to £39,000 with some experience and beyond into the mid to high £40,000’s if you go on to specialise.
Progressing from a Delivery Driver to HGV Driver is a simple process. In order to obtain your HGV licence, you need to fulfil the following criteria:
- Be over 18 years of age.
- Hold a full car licence.
- Hold a Certificate of Professional Competence (Driver CPC).
Have the right licence for the vehicle that you intend to drive:
- Category C1 - Large Goods Vehicle (LGV) weighing up to 7,500kg/7.5 tonne.
- Category C - rigid vehicles weighing over 7,500kg/7.5 tonne with trailers weighing up to 750kg.
- Category C+E - articulated vehicles in excess of 7,500kg/7.5 tonne with trailers weighing more than 750kg.
A Certificate of Professional Competence, (CPC) is the licence that authorises you to drive HGV’s professionally and enables you to commence specific vehicle training. If you are looking to obtain your Driver CPC here you can find a list of training providers.
For more information on the various HGV Licences and the driving jobs that you can do when you hold each one, view our commercial driving licences explained page.
Becoming a HGV/LGV Driver
1. Get your car driving licence.
2. Get a medical and obtain a medical exam report (Form D4) from your Doctor.
3. Apply for a provisional lorry licence.
4. Sit your theory test.
5. Take the driver Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) test.
6. Take the relevant category practical test.
Like any new qualification, getting your LGV licence can seem expensive. The training, tests and licences combined can cost anywhere between £1000 and £2000 which is without a doubt, a significant amount of money. But remember, this is an investment into your future so don’t be put off by the affordability of the courses before you have explored all of your options.
Throughout your HGV Driver career you will come across a number of different roles including:
- 7.5 Tonne Driver (Category C1)
- LGV Category C Driver (Class 2)
- LGV Category C+E Driver (Class 1)
- Long Distance Driver (Tramping)
- Abnormal/Unusual Load Driver
As is often the case regardless of the industry, all roles have their own benefits and limitations, so we highly recommend that once you have your HGV licence you spend some time in temporary roles to ensure you gain a good cross section of experience.
Within the Class 1 C+E Driver role especially, there are a couple of specialist driving roles you could progress into providing you have enough experience and that you have completed any specialist training required by the role:
- HIAB (Lorry Mounted Crane) Driver
- Fuel Tanker Driver
To become a HIAB (Lorry Mounted Crane) Driver and earn on average £33,000 per year you will need a HIAB licence, also sometimes referred to as an ALLMI Certificate. Here you can find more information on what a HIAB course covers.
To become a Fuel Tanker Driver and earn on average £30,000 per year, you will need to have your LGV Category C+E Driver (Class 1) licence along with your Driver CPC but you will also need an ADR (European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road) driver certificate. You will need this ADR certificate in order to carry hazardous materials such as fuel oil.
A HGV driving career is not just about the various driving roles that you can progress into, there are plenty of other positions that could really benefit from your driving knowledge and experience. Positions include Transport Manager, Logistics Manager, Fleet Manager and Distribution Clerk to name just a few so choosing to start out in a driving based role doesn’t mean you have to stay there, driving careers can reach far beyond the open road.
If you are actively looking for work and would like to see what your take home pay will be within a new role, check out our Salary Calculator.
HGV careers UK is just one of the things we do, check out our job pages to see all available roles.
