Plant Operator
Discussion
Hi,
Job/career wise I’ve came to the realisation that to earn more money I need to learn new skills, get new qualifications. With what I do currently I can’t earn any more or go any higher
I’ve started looking at plant operators. There’s a flyover and HS2 being built locally and seeing the machines got me thinking. Where would a newbie like me start? CPCS? NPORS? Then I hear about red and blue cards. I don’t know the difference between it all
What plant do newcomers start on? In the HGV world you’ll generally if you go the agency route start with vans and then 7.5T then class 2 then class 1. Is Plant the same?
Is most work via agency’s?
Thanks
Job/career wise I’ve came to the realisation that to earn more money I need to learn new skills, get new qualifications. With what I do currently I can’t earn any more or go any higher
I’ve started looking at plant operators. There’s a flyover and HS2 being built locally and seeing the machines got me thinking. Where would a newbie like me start? CPCS? NPORS? Then I hear about red and blue cards. I don’t know the difference between it all
What plant do newcomers start on? In the HGV world you’ll generally if you go the agency route start with vans and then 7.5T then class 2 then class 1. Is Plant the same?
Is most work via agency’s?
Thanks
Cpcs is more widely recognised,do a red card as trained operator then after 6 months n within 3 years do an nvq to get blue,competent operator card,yeah pay twice....
Then re new every five years
There's a few firms that have been doing operator apprentice schemes,to help recruitment
Llynch,flannerys,m o Brien
Industry split between hire firms,put machines to work on site,and contractors,using own machines on own jobs,agency's have lion share of work mostly cis tax but increasingly paye,rates £15/17 ADT,£18/20 360,dozer £20+ per hour cis
Hs2 has massive demand all forms of construction work,currently not the 'big hours',overtime n week ends that used to be regular industry practice
Like most jobs finding specialised niche is best option
Lots of agency's advertise Facebook,indeed,I've been in plant,engineering,mining since early '80s jobs certainly changed,but still decent way to earn a living,'nvq'..... Not very qualified.....
Best place to start rear,ADT or forward tipping dumpers,learn job by watching what goes on around you,not many sites have patience with new digger drivers who don't know the job
Then re new every five years
There's a few firms that have been doing operator apprentice schemes,to help recruitment
Llynch,flannerys,m o Brien
Industry split between hire firms,put machines to work on site,and contractors,using own machines on own jobs,agency's have lion share of work mostly cis tax but increasingly paye,rates £15/17 ADT,£18/20 360,dozer £20+ per hour cis
Hs2 has massive demand all forms of construction work,currently not the 'big hours',overtime n week ends that used to be regular industry practice
Like most jobs finding specialised niche is best option
Lots of agency's advertise Facebook,indeed,I've been in plant,engineering,mining since early '80s jobs certainly changed,but still decent way to earn a living,'nvq'..... Not very qualified.....
Best place to start rear,ADT or forward tipping dumpers,learn job by watching what goes on around you,not many sites have patience with new digger drivers who don't know the job
Hi pal
I’m an npors instructor, main job is elf and safety
Npors and cscs are becoming more intermixed,
You will need to do a one day H&S course then sit a touch screen exam
Trade wise, slinger/ signaler, pedestrian operated crane are good to have, crane supervisor, tele handler etc.
Maybe try some general labouring to get an idea of working on a site.
For rail, you will need your track side qualifications
Pay is better but few permanent jobs.
All of the above cost money to do on your own,
What’s your current role and location?
Have you had any experience with plant?
Kind regards
Angelo
I’m an npors instructor, main job is elf and safety
Npors and cscs are becoming more intermixed,
You will need to do a one day H&S course then sit a touch screen exam
Trade wise, slinger/ signaler, pedestrian operated crane are good to have, crane supervisor, tele handler etc.
Maybe try some general labouring to get an idea of working on a site.
For rail, you will need your track side qualifications
Pay is better but few permanent jobs.
All of the above cost money to do on your own,
What’s your current role and location?
Have you had any experience with plant?
Kind regards
Angelo
Thanks for the replies
The thing that concerns me now that I’ve been looking into it more is that most, if not all, jobs I’ve seen advertised are agency and anything from a week to a few months
In around eighteen months we’re hoping to move house and this would be an issue for a mortgage application
The thing that concerns me now that I’ve been looking into it more is that most, if not all, jobs I’ve seen advertised are agency and anything from a week to a few months
In around eighteen months we’re hoping to move house and this would be an issue for a mortgage application
gobs
te said:
te said: Hi pal
I’m an npors instructor, main job is elf and safety
Npors and cscs are becoming more intermixed,
You will need to do a one day H&S course then sit a touch screen exam
Trade wise, slinger/ signaler, pedestrian operated crane are good to have, crane supervisor, tele handler etc.
Maybe try some general labouring to get an idea of working on a site.
For rail, you will need your track side qualifications
Pay is better but few permanent jobs.
All of the above cost money to do on your own,
What’s your current role and location?
Have you had any experience with plant?
Kind regards
Angelo
Angelo are you doing online training at the moment?I’m an npors instructor, main job is elf and safety
Npors and cscs are becoming more intermixed,
You will need to do a one day H&S course then sit a touch screen exam
Trade wise, slinger/ signaler, pedestrian operated crane are good to have, crane supervisor, tele handler etc.
Maybe try some general labouring to get an idea of working on a site.
For rail, you will need your track side qualifications
Pay is better but few permanent jobs.
All of the above cost money to do on your own,
What’s your current role and location?
Have you had any experience with plant?
Kind regards
Angelo
TCX said:
Cpcs is more widely recognised,do a red card as trained operator then after 6 months n within 3 years do an nvq to get blue,competent operator card,yeah pay twice....
Then re new every five years
There's a few firms that have been doing operator apprentice schemes,to help recruitment
Llynch,flannerys,m o Brien
Industry split between hire firms,put machines to work on site,and contractors,using own machines on own jobs,agency's have lion share of work mostly cis tax but increasingly paye,rates £15/17 ADT,£18/20 360,dozer £20+ per hour cis
Hs2 has massive demand all forms of construction work,currently not the 'big hours',overtime n week ends that used to be regular industry practice
Like most jobs finding specialised niche is best option
Lots of agency's advertise Facebook,indeed,I've been in plant,engineering,mining since early '80s jobs certainly changed,but still decent way to earn a living,'nvq'..... Not very qualified.....
Best place to start rear,ADT or forward tipping dumpers,learn job by watching what goes on around you,not many sites have patience with new digger drivers who don't know the job
Can i drop you an email or you me as I wanted to ask some questions, but your profile doesn't accept emails..Then re new every five years
There's a few firms that have been doing operator apprentice schemes,to help recruitment
Llynch,flannerys,m o Brien
Industry split between hire firms,put machines to work on site,and contractors,using own machines on own jobs,agency's have lion share of work mostly cis tax but increasingly paye,rates £15/17 ADT,£18/20 360,dozer £20+ per hour cis
Hs2 has massive demand all forms of construction work,currently not the 'big hours',overtime n week ends that used to be regular industry practice
Like most jobs finding specialised niche is best option
Lots of agency's advertise Facebook,indeed,I've been in plant,engineering,mining since early '80s jobs certainly changed,but still decent way to earn a living,'nvq'..... Not very qualified.....
Best place to start rear,ADT or forward tipping dumpers,learn job by watching what goes on around you,not many sites have patience with new digger drivers who don't know the job
You can do some training online but any of the plant will need you to be ‘on site’
I am doing flt refreshers at the moment one on one for a client, instructing is my side job I do elf and safety as my main.
Not going to lie, it’s hard work socially distancing with a face mask on which is why I’m doing it with just one candidate, would normally have three.
I redid my smsts two weeks ago, this was all delivered on zoom, to be fair is was ok.
I am doing tele handler training this week, two candidates to see how it works.
Have you an idea what you fancy doing?
I am doing flt refreshers at the moment one on one for a client, instructing is my side job I do elf and safety as my main.
Not going to lie, it’s hard work socially distancing with a face mask on which is why I’m doing it with just one candidate, would normally have three.
I redid my smsts two weeks ago, this was all delivered on zoom, to be fair is was ok.
I am doing tele handler training this week, two candidates to see how it works.
Have you an idea what you fancy doing?
It's a lot different to when I started driving construction equipment! I got a job when I was 18-19 on the M25 construction. I went up to the compound where the earthmovers were, and enquired about getting a job. The foreman pointed at a big volvo and asked if I could drive one. I said I'd give it a try, so he got one of the lads to show me round the cab and told me so start the next week!
The Volvo was one of these, and we had a ball!
The Volvo was one of these, and we had a ball!
Good thing to get into. Show a bit of initiative and you can go far in construction. My pal is a ground worker self employed clearing at least 50k PA. He has earnt vastly more than this on road building contracts. He's had good contracts right through all the Covid crisis and just picks and chooses where he wants to go. Day rates are always negotiable but the teams of contractors tend to bunch up and go from job to job with eachother. A lot of guys on sites just dick around like kids so someone on the job with a bit of a brain will soon find themselves running jobs. Don't go on the books!
In a similar boat myself I'm halfway through my CPCS 360 10t excavator course at the moment with NPORS tractor booked after. Some good advice been given already you need to do H&S test and get a CSCS card to be allowed on site, I had a mechanical NVQ which gave me a skilled worker card rather than the green labourers so if you've got an existing trade look into what it'll get you.
As you've found out wanting to get a mortgage might throw a spanner in as you need to be self employed and travel for the £20 p/h jobs, if you've any big civils firms nearby you might find one will employ you but unlikely until you've shelled out a few grand in training and from what I can see most places want experienced blue card operators. I'm lucky in that I know a couple of local firm owners who have agreed to give me some work once I've passed, so my plan is to get a few months experience with them and convert my plant categories to blue cards which will improve my job and salary prospects.
I've done landscaping, groundworks and labouring as well as general building and joinery before so I'm confident I'll have some idea on a job site, if you've never tried anything out of that list before I'd strongly recommend getting some groundworks experience first, I worked for a drainage firm who gave me experience operating various plant on the smaller domestic jobs which is how everyone learns really.
If you've been made redundant or furloughed or otherwise affected by covid have a look and see if there's any funding for training courses you're eligible for, your local plant training school will probably have an idea of what's available in your area if you give them a ring.
As you've found out wanting to get a mortgage might throw a spanner in as you need to be self employed and travel for the £20 p/h jobs, if you've any big civils firms nearby you might find one will employ you but unlikely until you've shelled out a few grand in training and from what I can see most places want experienced blue card operators. I'm lucky in that I know a couple of local firm owners who have agreed to give me some work once I've passed, so my plan is to get a few months experience with them and convert my plant categories to blue cards which will improve my job and salary prospects.
I've done landscaping, groundworks and labouring as well as general building and joinery before so I'm confident I'll have some idea on a job site, if you've never tried anything out of that list before I'd strongly recommend getting some groundworks experience first, I worked for a drainage firm who gave me experience operating various plant on the smaller domestic jobs which is how everyone learns really.
If you've been made redundant or furloughed or otherwise affected by covid have a look and see if there's any funding for training courses you're eligible for, your local plant training school will probably have an idea of what's available in your area if you give them a ring.
Darkslider said:
If you've been made redundant or furloughed or otherwise affected by covid have a look and see if there's any funding for training courses you're eligible for, your local plant training school will probably have an idea of what's available in your area if you give them a ring.
The only funded courses i've seen going, are the one's from those training companies that pop up every time there's a recession, they charge the govt £500 a head for "training", an utterly useless certificate which they entirely made up only a few months previous and which no companies or businesses actually recognise.Darkslider said:
Passed my A59 Cpcs excavator test today, got lifting ops too so hoping combined with my previous groundworks and mechanics experience I'll be a useful person to have on a site if anyone has any work going on the north Wales area!
Try Jones bros,ruthin or look on indeed,Facebook plenty work on at moment Gassing Station | Jobs & Employment Matters | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff