Trainee Driver Course

[iwasyoungonce]

Hi, I would be interested in peoples views/experiences on residential driver training courses.

Did you find it better staying in a hotel either paid for by the TOC or yourself ?

Did candidates struggle with balancing the demands of the course and home/family life ?

Thanks in advance

 

[NorthernTech]

Hi, I would be interested in peoples views/experiences on residential driver training courses.

Did you find it better staying in a hotel either paid for by the TOC or yourself ?

Did candidates struggle with balancing the demands of the course and home/family life ?

Thanks in advance

I’m sure I read a thread similar to this a while ago. I think many said that if you were close enough to do either, it was better to stay in the hotel as you were able to study together in the evening. See if you can locate the other thread, there were a fair few responses if I recall.

 

[GemGem]

I have two young children so I had to be home in the evenings. I also drove when I needed to go to the training school to make sure I could be home for my kids. I recorded a lot of the notes I went over in the evenings to listen to on the drive to the training school the next day. Think it all depends on your personal circumstances.

 

[Paulm36]

I was lodged away Sunday to Friday for my entire classroom training and for me personally I'd say it was a bonus .

We as a class were able to form a revision group in the evening where we'd sit there throwing questions at each other from the days learning and were able to help each other with the stuff we struggled with .

Having a young family at home would have made revision for myself a nightmare.

Getting home late and tired on a Friday night and leaving again on a Sunday wasn't easy on myself or my family but where I was able to have good revision time during the week , I was able to put the books down over the weekend and relax with the kids .

I also found the fact that as we were lodged close to where we were training this reduced the stress of travelling to and from the classroom making it a more relaxing start and end to the day .

We built up a nice camaraderie all lodging and learning together and we still help each other out today . Not for everyone I'm sure but for myself a very positive experience and let's be honest it's a very short time in the long-term.

 

[iwasyoungonce]

Hello all

New poster but i've been reading the forums for a while.

Im due to start with EMR as a trainee next year and was wondering if there any other trainees on here who have recently gone through the course with EMR? if so, I had a few questions.

How long is each stage of training typcially lasting and how long are people taking to pass out?

What does a typcal week look like during the classroom training? working hours etc.


Thanks!

I’m sure I read a thread similar to this a while ago. I think many said that if you were close enough to do either, it was better to stay in the hotel as you were able to study together in the evening. See if you can locate the other thread, there were a fair few responses if I recall.

Yes I saw this at the end of last year but slightly different questions

 

[NorthernTech]

Yes I saw this at the end of last year but slightly different questions

No the post I saw asked about staying away vs travelling in and their associated benefits or drawbacks. With those who had young children concerned about being away all week etc..

 

[iwasyoungonce]

Hopefully someone might link it.
I have no issues around childcare so one less thing to worry about.

 

[wobman]

I had no choice as my driver training course was 100's of miles away from my home depot, we travelled down on the Sunday evening and returned home on Friday evening. It put a big strain on my family life at the time but there was no alternative.

Luckily now the toc has adapted the course to help with family life and created a training centre on the North of the franchise. Some still choose hotel accommodation as it has less distractions plus some depots are a to far away.

 

[GogoTime]

Did the toc pay for your hotel?

 

[wobman]

Did the toc pay for your hotel?

Yes they paid and it was a holiday Inn Hotel, tocs have contacts with local hotels.

 

[GogoTime]

Yes they paid and it was a holiday Inn Hotel, tocs have contacts with local hotels.

Thank you

 

[Stigy]

I loved staying away from home during my classroom and traction training. Great lifestyle. Yes you’re away from the family, and everyone’s circumstances are different, but for me it worked well, even with a wife and two young children. Bit like a holiday really

It was good because I could concentrate on any revision I needed to do in the evenings, and found a few nice pubs along the way. With the best will in the world, even the most disciplined person would find concentrating and remaining fatigue free, a bit of a challenge with kids running around needing attention. It’s not so bad if you live near the training facility, but if it’s over an hour commute either way, it would start to become tiring. I was always going to be in a hotel, as travelling time was about 2.5hours from my work station, or 3hrs from home.

 

[4F89]

I wish I had 10 weeks in a hotel, would have been a nice rest from the chaos at home!