Sensible plant ticket for relative noob?

[Shuvi McTupya]

Just looking for a bit of advice here, I will be making enquiries elsewhere too.

In the passed I have had A CSCS card and a CPCS ticket for an Articulated Roller but I haven't been in the industry for a few years and am thinking about getting a ticket for 'something' that will get me some work, preferably on a big site.

Options that I am considering are.


Excavator (360)- I actually like the sound of this as i think that you do tend to be left exclusively to operate the 360 and and expected to be constantly jumping out and 'getting your hands dirty'. The money is better than HGV and once you are at work, you are on site and not risking your drivers license. My concern with the 360 is that experience counts far more than the ticket (but off course you must have a ticket). I have driven 360's of all sizes but i have never used them on site, i have just played with them and moved them around etc.

Telehandler- Not sure with this, i have used one for a day or so in a yard and i am confident I could get a ticket but i am not sure about work prospects.

HGV- I am not really sold on getting an HGV license for a couple of reasons, although I did pass the theory exam within the last two years so i think that is still valid.
One reason i am not sure is that i would be putting my drivers license on the line day in and day out and another is that it doesn't actually pay very well for the time and money invested.

Basically I want to be working 'outside', but in the dry and with a seat and a radio...


I Have £1500 that i can afford to invest in myself, but I don't want to make the mistake of getting a ticket for something and then not being able to get a job without experience of using the plant i got qualified for.

The most sensible thing may possibly be to go and do my roller ticket again, but I am now 50, and I am not a labourer. Having had a bit of a look at jobs it seems to me that most roller and dumper jobs are for Labourers with a Roller and/or dumper ticket.

What i need is to train on a bit of kit that is hard enough that running that kit is your job, but easy enough that you can get hired without years worth of on the job experience!

Suggestions?

[Kneedragger95]

Forklift? Plenty of inexperienced ticket holders for forklifts have worked on sites I have been on over the last few years so I'm guessing getting work can't be too hard.
It seems high pressure sometimes though on busy sites, so I would only recommend it if you think you can deal with remembering several items that need lifting whilst also trying to unload a HGV at the same time.

[Shuvi McTupya]

Does that come under Telehandler ? I haven't spent a lot of time on sites but i don't recall seeing many normal forklift trucks on building sites.

[Kneedragger95]

Yep, telehandlers.
I thinks for training + tests and other costs you'll be looking at around £1,000. Apparently the average wage is something like £130 a day, I haven't done it myself though so my numbers may need adjusting slightly.

[Shuvi McTupya]

I wouldn't mind doing Telehandler work. One issue i have though is that the nearest decent training place is a three hour drive so i would be looking at a hotel /Bed and breakfast as well. But that would still be doable for £1500.

Food for thought.