How many HGV drivers do you know who, alongside navigating a truck and its load, can do you a decent haircut? Not many. But Yorkshireman Dale Sheard – winner of Driver Hire’s Driver CPC Training Competition, can. He’s been driving professionally for the best part of a decade, learning his road transport ropes in the cab of a 7.5 tonner on multi-drop work for Yodel. He recently upgraded his licence to Category C+E.
But that’s only the start of the story, because Dale has got through quite a lot of life in his 44 years. “I was brought up in a children’s home,” says Dale. “I left school with no qualifications and, when I was in my teens, I got into a bit of trouble. Luckily, I had a wake-up call and decided it was time to do something positive with my life.”
Which he did. Dale got himself into college and trained to be a barber, a job he did for about 15 years. “I had a friend who worked at Yodel. He told me they were looking for Christmas temps. I ended up staying there for five years.”
To widen his experience in his new career, Dale moved to a local driver agency. “They really looked after me,” Dale continues. “They helped me get my category C+E licence and keep me busy. I absolutely love driving for a living and wish I’d started earlier in my life. For a start, there’s so much variety. Today I’m delivering machinery; last week I was multi-dropping pharmaceuticals. Once you’re in the cab, effectively you’re you own boss. I’ve discovered that I really hate being stuck in a building all day. We live in a beautiful country, and I get to see it. I mean, what could be better than getting paid to have a break, sitting in your cab, enjoying a chip buttie whilst looking at some lovely countryside”