Ex-Royal Artillery

I’m an ex-Royal Artillery soldier that was medically discharged after a serious motorcycle accident back in 2009 which left me with a disability affecting my arm.

This affected my driving licence restricting me to automatic only and requiring adaptions to vehicles to drive them legally. I’ve had numerous jobs since but none I enjoyed as much as driving. I approached many haulage firms but was knocked back on many occasions despite there being a national shortage of Class 1 drivers.

I’ve held my Class 1 licence since 1996 with many years of experience through the armed forces and agency driving in time off. Most recently I was knocked back by one of the largest haulage firms in the country and I was told it was because my Drivers CPC card was out of date.

I took to social media to have a whinge on a forces page where Darren Wright from Veterans into Logistics contacted me. We had a good chat and he offered to put me through my Driver CPC Periodic training straight away. I took a week off work and completed the training, so I was current again. But Darren’s help didn’t stop there.

I applied for a few jobs and got interviews through Darren’s connections in some haulage firms. I was very apprehensive after being knocked back before, especially with my disability. Darren encouraged me and gave some great advice to help in the interviews.

I have now secured an HGV Class 1 driving position with a leading firm after a successful interview and driving assessment. I cannot thank Darren and Veterans into Logistics enough not only for putting me through my Driver CPC training but their support and encouragement in finding driver employment.

A truly fantastic charity, keep up the good work!