Large Goods Vehicle Apprentice

My name is Carl and I started my apprenticeship in January 2025. Before I moved to Thames water I worked at Sainsburys for over ten years as a retail assistant. I had always wanted to become an LGV driver, and this apprenticeship came along at just the right time to give me the option to follow that dream. It only actually took me about 5 months to get my full C+E LGV licence, and I have also had the opportunity to learn how to operate other pieces of machinery such as a 15-ton loading shovel.

Why did you choose to apply for a Thames Water apprenticeship?

It has been a dream for me to one day become an LGV driver and thanks to Thames Water and their apprenticeship scheme a dream became reality. The reason I chose Thames Water is because not only are they one of, if not the biggest, water service providers in the UK but they are also one of the only companies offering an apprenticeship scheme that offers a course to become an LGV driver.

Can you tell me about your life and career journey?

I worked at a lot of different companies before joining Thames Water, but the jobs themselves usually ended up being at warehouses. I spent around 6 years working night shift and 4 years working the day shift before eventually deciding that that work didn’t suit me, and I decided to take the plunge in following my dream to drive HGVs.

Tell me about your typical working day as a Thames Water Apprentice (positives and challenges)

My workload is probably easy compared to some of the other apprenticeship schemes that Thames Water run. This scheme is a short [1 year] scheme which covers learning how to drive and operate the LGV itself, which only takes a couple months, and then we move onto driver shadowing so that we can learn where other Thames Water sites are and how to access them. Alongside this shadowing we are also tasked with having to help load cake/biosolids using the loading shovel for any trucks that need to be loaded on the day.

The biggest challenge I have faced so far has been studying for my LGV theory tests as I struggle with this learning aspect, but I am happy to say that I did eventually pass both my theory and practical LGV courses.

My EPA is due any day now and I can safely say that this apprenticeship scheme has helped to get me and my career going in the direction I have always wanted it to go.