First letter sent....

[diggerjones]

if i were you i would find a local plant hire firm [not a big firm but a small outfit where the owner has to drive the machines aswell] or a small muck shifting firm with a yolk or two.explain your reasons and offer to wash,grease or generally be available to do anything on a sat morning[for nowt of coarse]. if your keen and regaular you never know you might get a start. good look.

[ben_uk]

Evening,

Got in wrong in my last post its not Hawk plant on the site its, Harkin http://www.harkinconstruction.com/

Not had a chance of trying to chat to any of the operators and dont think i will just dont have anything to do with them. I am always with the brickies lol

Gonna send a letter off to Harkin though

Sent 16 letters of to different plant/ground work firms 2 weeks ago now and not heard from 1 of them lol it makes me sad

Though christmas being 6 weeks away carnt see me getting a start anywhere, so looks like agency work untill christmas Come 2009 full on attack mode lol this time next year i wanna be operating a machine !!!!

Should i ask santa for a CPCS card for a 360 excavator could help.

Cheers

[ben_uk]

Just been reading through all 9 pages of this, first post back in July seems so long ago !

Here we are say 6 months on and still trying to get a start somewhere will it ever happen

I just need that one break to get me started

In the process of putting a letter together again for Oakfield, only company i have wrote to that replied and wanted to see me and did !! but unable to give me a job at the time due to the state of things at the mo that was back in september 08. Sending another letter off to them remind them i am still around and still wanting to get started.

Also gonna put another letter together and send to any company that runs plant in my local area and further out i dont mind travelling lol see what happens with that.

Getting by just working for the agency at the mo labouring on building sites around nottingham, doing this makes me want to get started in plant even more ! do something i enjoy

Sorry if this bores anyone but thought i would update my stituation

Cheers Ben

[Joes1989]

Ben,

Just a word of warning! Please dont get your hopes up with us (Oakfield) mate as we are really short of work at the moment infact we have a 360 coming on our site on monday that has been sat on site for about a month doing nothing. The operator has been making tea and cleaning vans for this time. Our gaffer is doing everything he can to get new jobs but at this point in time it doesnt look that good at all.

The bloke on the site im on are all thinking that come march (the end of the job) they could all be on the ever growing list of unemployed in the UK

Best of luck though!

Joe

[RichardJW~]

Sorry if this bores anyone but thought i would update my stituation

Cheers Ben

No, not boring at all.

I am sure it is difficult getting a foot on the ladder.

When I was 20 a local plant guy gave me my first opportunity to work in the construction game - don't laugh but I was driving a Thwaites 5 ton dumper on a new housing estate project. This was quite an eye-opener to me coming from a family farming background to be on a site where you arrived in the morning started the machine then me and the digger driver just sat around waiting for the site foreman to tell us what needed clearing next. Half the time we seemed to sit in the tea room listening to the wide stories of the brickies.
The highlight of the day was the ready mix lorry offloading.
On one occassion they tipped in 3 lorry loads of 803 in for a garage base, they levelled it and rolled it, but the subsoil was so wet it was like a bow-wave in front of the roller drums. ANyway the housing inspector arrived and told them to rip it out and do it again!!!
Anyway this was a shortlived career for me and went off to college to study Ag. engineering, which brings me to the point I want to make is in these times when even the skilled chaps are finding it tough have you ever considered going off and studying Plant Engineering, or how about joining the REME - after the first 6 weeks I am sure it would be interesting and a helluva chance to travel the world? If you've the aptitude for spanners I am sure potential employers would look more favourably on someone who can multi-task......even if its only welding up a bucket it's another string to your bow.....and I believe the industry is short of engineers/mechanics - I won't say fitters as I believe this term belongs to someone who works in ATS.

DON'T GIVE UP!!!

What does everyone else think?

[d4c24a]

some good ideas Richard ,i considered the army/reme route it would be worth a visit to your army careers office

[john345me]

hi ben weldon plant mite be a help in corby if thats any help

[ben_uk]

Cheers or the replies lads

Just checked out Weldon'sweb site cheers John http://weldonplant.co.uk/index.php will get a letter of to them.

[nick lamb]

Keep at it Ben,If someone needs a man then they might start you because you keep on trying so hard.Good luck with it.
I also agree with Richard,the more multi tasking you can do the more usefull as an all-rounder to someone you will become.

[argie]

Hi Ben,
If you are willing to travel/lodge try Castlebridge Plant in Scotland. Their MD said they are allways on the lookout for operators, they also run the EPIC training scheme.
Paul