jill1420

My husband has been driving Class 2 for a year and has just recently got his Class 1. How much experience is required for entry via skill shortage list? Any help appreciated.

jill1420

And he managed to get 3 points on his licence today! driving through red light(although he says.....not his fault?). Will this affect him getting Class 1 jobs? He doesnt have any other points. Am I worrying about nothing?

phil01

Hi Jill,
for class 2 he would need 3 years experience, class 1 no actual experience required for visa purposes, but he must have a job offer. Although he may struggle to get a job due to lack of experience.

UK points don't transfer onto NZ licences, you get a fresh start...but again it may go against him for employment, safety is a big issue for truckers out here.
Debbie

cherry

[QUOTE

UK points don't transfer onto NZ licences, you get a fresh start...but again it may go against him for employment, safety is a big issue for truckers out here.
Debbie[/QUOTE].

Sorry to disagree but safety here is NOT a big issue with some drivers and company`s,I work as a diesel mechanic and see a lot of drivers here who flaunt the law on a big time basis,there are no tachographs here just a lie sorry Log book.Most of the lorries have no sped limiters fitted as it is not part of any test here that one has to be fitted or even work.Drink driving and driving under the influence of drugs is common also.I have seen lots of damaged trucks here and mostly it has been the drivers fault so dont think the trucks here are as safe as they should be,the lorry MOT is a farce compared to the UK.

Now for some better news ,getting a job as a driver is really easy as they need drivers here so badly,I have been offered numerous jobs driving here including one for the coach firm in Wellington that has the double decker coach that does Welly to Auckland.Pay is poor,prospects as bad ,long hours due to a poor road network also come into play.By all means get a driving job here but be prepered to work for a lot less than the uk.
I hold a UK class one which is a Ce which here is a class 5 which is everything ,ever driven a "B" train ,thats an articulated lorry with another trailer attatched to a 5th wheel at the rear of the front trailer,good fun I have to drive them sometimes and reversing is an art I have to perfect yet:curse: I do my job to the best of my ability and maintain trucks to a standard as high as I did in the UK when working for Scania GB,here some firms run on a shoestring and shortcuts are made
This is not an all negative post just an honest one based on what I see and do here ,not all the driving jobs are the same so give it a try,you may just like it

phil01

Well you get crap companies in the UK so undoubtedly you get them over here as well, but I am a Class 1 UK, now class 5 NZ driver and my company do take safety seriously...think we have had this discussion before. Personally if I worked for a company that didn't abide by the rules I would just leave, as you said plenty of work for truckers out here so no reason or excuse to work for someone that is not a good employer.

You can't compare the money as a trucker in NZ to that paid in the UK the same with every other job, wages are lower out here, simple fact but we find the cost of living lower also hence my wife no longer works when she had no choice in the UK. But again down to personal circumstances I'm sure if my wife decided to spend every waking minute trawling the shops and spending like the Beckhams we would be bankrupt in seconds, but we live within our means.

Your post is a negative post, thats your perogative but just because you have had a bad experience you can't brand the whole industry as crap, and if its that bad why are you still here? I know quite a few drivers that much prefer working in NZ and feel their working conditions are better. Getting home every night, less pressure, friendlier atmosphere and the log book is only a lie if you make it one, I personally prefer to work within the law and wouldn't ever fiddle it and again would just move on to a different company if anyone tried to force me to.

cherry

[

Your post is a negative post, thats your perogative but just because you have had a bad experience you can't brand the whole industry as crap, and if its that bad why are you still here? .


Where did I say I had a "BAD EXPERIENCE" ,as a fully qualified and factory trained diesel mechanic I see a lot of things wrong with trucks that as a driver you do not.Oh plus I can drive them also so I think I am in a better posistion than you to judge the roadworthyness of a vehicle.I write what I see I never said all company`s were crap just some I have come across.The reason I am still here .Well its simple ,to do my job to try to make sure what YOU drive is as safe as it can be ,thats more than some maintenence I have come across and had to right on safety grounds.Please re read my post I said "SOME DRIVERS AND COMPANIES " not all .I also know that maintenence is a lot less of a standard here than in the UK but I still work as if I am doing it to VOSA test standards which are higher than here.Question ,who would you trust as a driver to fix your high tec computer run truck,a back street Kiwi outfit or a factory trained expat .Lets not let this get into a long silly debate ,we are all here to better this country as they need us to help them or we would not be here .

phil01

I agree no point in a long debate with you. I don't dispute you are in a better position to judge roadworthiness but do you drive and see every vehicle in NZ, no so you can only judge for the company you are involved with which is clearly not that good judging by what you have said. I just assumed you had a bad experience judging by the negativity of your post.

You have your experiences and I have mine and they seem to be worlds apart...as for back street Kiwi outfits, we don't have them we have our own on site workshops but I suppose that goes with working for a reputable company, which is my choice. So yes I trust Kiwis to fix my lorry and there is one major plus point, they chat to you and are friendly not whinging poms!

These people are considering coming to NZ and you paint a very negative picture I don't dispute that it is not Utopia, crap happens but not all the time and not everywhere. If you haven't had any positive experiences during your time 'trying to better the country' then maybe you are in the wrong location.

cherry

Phil 0 ,I work for a main dealer here in Welly and we do any vehicle from all parts of the country that pass by,I am not in fleet maintainence here for a single company.The standard of work that I have come across is poor and it comes from all areas.A lot of owners try to bodge and get by to save money but inevitably they have to come to a garage for a proper repair sometime .Last month I had to collect a trailer from the dock that was up from the south island it wanted a COF.I put it on the pit and condemned it right away,it had only 5 of the 8 brakes working in any kind of fashion.Needless to say it had to have a full set of disc pads.3 new calipers and 4 new discs.Now that did not happen just o/night ,6 months between tests and that trailer never saw a garage probably,now thats what I call bad maintainence,want to see pics I have them of the brakes I stripped.You are lucky if your company is doing a good job,like I said I see what comes into our garage and how it has been looked after
What I like about my job here is that I get respect from the other Kiwi mechanics and asked a lot of advice on the truck make I specialize in ,my pommie mate that worked here was at the same training school as me in the uk and we both worked for the same dealership there but in different towns,He left in January because he could not accept the standards he saw,I am here to help improve them and it is slowly sinking in and working.I am a leading hand technician and say fix it right first time and you will get job satisfaction.Kiwi it and it will come back and haunt you .Now if thats negative putting something right then I am in the wrong job:I only tell it the way I see it not to put people off just not to paint a rosy picture as some people try to ,like you said its not utopia.I would rather someone tell me the truth before I made a decision ,as for whinging poms have you had one mend your truck and complain to you ,a bad experience perhaps.

cherry

This is what worries me when I see this ,my company has just got the contract to look after this fleet and this was the first job we got,I believe they have @50 truck/trailer rigs we are to look after.You can see the caliper has no pistons left ,the pads are bare metal and the disc has one side totally missing,this was one of the 4 faulty brakes ,the other 3 were not much prettier. .What is the rest of the fleet like,yet to see them

kerrone

Hi All,
I read with interest but am so confused I have been driving LGV 1 here in the uk for 20 years, I thought that this would be my passport to a new life in NZ but agencys we have contacted said this is not the case. HELP please

phil01

Hi,
well it must be the agencys you've contacted that are the problem...try <edit> you have to pay for their services but with 20 years experience can't see what the problem is.

kerrone

Thanks Phil. Just e mailed them. Cant read private messages as yet

Elsie03

My OH - Gazzer15 (HGV driver) has just pointed out that maybe the agencies understand Hgv terminology rather than Lgv as its a change of name in recent years....just a thought.

OH contacted Chrysalis and have been more than welcomed - Phil you need to get some commision sorted! :-)

suzi n steve

I'll second that! Steve will be contacting them hopefully in the next few months once we can get our house on the market. You've been a great help Phil and Debbie.

phil01

You're welcome...mmmm commission yes please! We know what a struggle it was trying to get sorted and having opted for the wrong agency to start with we were just glad to get sorted in the end and still loving it over here...although it's turning cooler now it's winter, was down to 16 degrees today which over here now feels blo*** cold!