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The DFDS experience.
Page 43
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• CM met up with two Class 1 DFDS trainees at the company's Tamworth depot. Peter Broom used to work as a hill farmer; Peter Wierny already holds a Class 2 licence but was recently made redundant from a driving job—he applied for the DFDS Class 1 driver training programme through his Job Centre.
Wierny is German, but married a British woman and has been living in the UK since 1979. When he gains his Class 1 licence he plans to set himself up as an owner-driver. DFDS has agreed to take him under its wing for the training period without binding him to the two-year agreement. "The DFDS course is brilliant," he says. "The training is very methodical and the instructors offer a lot of encouragement. They are very positive people."
Weirny's local Job Centre subsidises DFDS for the training. He receives 2139 a week Jobseeker's Allowance, plus a 210 top-up because he is in training. "Normally drivers' pay in the UK is atrocious," he remarks. He is well aware of the industry's poor image: "There is the stereotype of the fat driver with his trousers hanging down." But he still believes training will improve his prospects: "There are more opportunities for Class 1 drivers [compared with Class 21—and they are better paid."
CONTACT David Foster, driver development manager, 07860 311049; Malcolm Polhill, strategy and technical support manager, 07764 836765.