360 CPCS, Beginner Questions

[MovingEarth]

Hello dear friends,

I am 32 years old, living in London, UK. I have previously worked as a labourer on small sites but without the presence of plant machinery so have no experience at all in this regard. I would like to become a 360 Operator because it seems fun and the pay seems decent.

I have no idea where to begin.. and how to enter this industry.
Do I acquire a CSCS card, do a CPCS training and approach construction site managers to give me a chance?

What are the health associated issues with this type of work?

Seeking your experience and guidance on this matter, thank you.

PS: I am not looking for full-time year round work, I enjoy simple living so earning £10k a year (working 5-6 months a year) is sufficient for me.
The reason this role attracted me is that it is fun and pays well enough for me to be able to live a lifestyle like this.

 

[charlie2]

Hello dear friends,

I am 32 years old, living in London, UK. I have previously worked as a labourer on small sites but without the presence of plant machinery so have no experience at all in this regard. I would like to become a 360 Operator because it seems fun and the pay seems decent.

I have no idea where to begin.. and how to enter this industry.
Do I acquire a CSCS card, do a CPCS training and approach construction site managers to give me a chance?

What are the health associated issues with this type of work?

Seeking your experience and guidance on this matter, thank you.

PS: I am not looking for full-time year round work, I enjoy simple living so earning £10k a year (working 5-6 months a year) is sufficient for me.
The reason this role attracted me is that it is fun and pays well enough for me to be able to live a lifestyle like this.

its not always fun and sometimes can get you down depending on who you are working for/with starting out from scratch wont be easy unless you have deep pockets, some of the bigger companys will train and put you through the cards etc, but probably will want some commitment from trainees to stay so long etc. you may get lucky and be great at it but experience takes time and some tasks are easy some a lot more involved, the pay can be good but you will earn it 90% of the time. if you really want to do it you will find a way.

 

[JD450A]

Depression, Back issues, Depression, Physcosis..... Yeah this months job is pretty miserable.... I feel like Hawkeye off MASH but at least the 4077th had important work to do.

 

[MovingEarth]

its not always fun and sometimes can get you down depending on who you are working for/with starting out from scratch wont be easy unless you have deep pockets, some of the bigger companys will train and put you through the cards etc, but probably will want some commitment from trainees to stay so long etc. you may get lucky and be great at it but experience takes time and some tasks are easy some a lot more involved, the pay can be good but you will earn it 90% of the time. if you really want to do it you will find a way.

I would be willing to invest 2.5k for the CPCS card that is required. Personally to me, it seems relatively more fun than the work I used to do. Worked as a design engineer and programmer at some point but sitting all day in the office definitely wasn't for me regardless of the pay, I preferred labouring. Starting doing labour work but I can't see this being good for my body in the long run.

 

[MovingEarth]

Depression, Back issues, Depression, Physcosis..... Yeah this months job is pretty miserable.... I feel like Hawkeye off MASH but at least the 4077th had important work to do.

Check out "Stuart McGill" about back issues, he's world-leading expert for back problems. Low back issue seem to be so predominant in all kinds of industries and it is most likely the result of poor posture coupled with a weak core.

I could imagine causing such issues when done year-long round but I wouldn't be doing that. The reason I would not is because I want to invest the rest of the year in my "inner peace" so as to prevent depression, stress and such.

 

[Lancs Lad]

Check out "Stuart McGill" about back issues, he's world-leading expert for back problems. Low back issue seem to be so predominant in all kinds of industries and it is most likely the result of poor posture coupled with a weak core.

I could imagine causing such issues when done year-long round but I wouldn't be doing that. The reason I would not is because I want to invest the rest of the year in my "inner peace" so as to prevent depression, stress and such.

Tell me more about this inner peace? Does it come in a bottle?

 

[JD450A]

Tell me more about this inner peace? Does it come in a bottle?

I've heard it's Canned, or on tap.

 

[Lancs Lad]

I've heard it's Canned, or on tap.

Interesting...I'm keen to invest more in it

 

[MovingEarth]

Tell me more about this inner peace? Does it come in a bottle?

Hahahah it can for some I presume. In a world that is full of humans believing that acquiring more equals being more.. it can be achieved by humbling oneself through living and thinking simpler and prioritising human connections. Gratefulness plays a part of it as well, you can have anything in the world but if you cannot be satisfied living simply then you will never be satisfied with anything else, regardless of how much material wealth you can generate.

 

[Brendan]

Hello dear friends,

I am 32 years old, living in London, UK. I have previously worked as a labourer on small sites but without the presence of plant machinery so have no experience at all in this regard. I would like to become a 360 Operator because it seems fun and the pay seems decent.

I have no idea where to begin.. and how to enter this industry.
Do I acquire a CSCS card, do a CPCS training and approach construction site managers to give me a chance?

What are the health associated issues with this type of work?

Seeking your experience and guidance on this matter, thank you.

PS: I am not looking for full-time year round work, I enjoy simple living so earning £10k a year (working 5-6 months a year) is sufficient for me.
The reason this role attracted me is that it is fun and pays well enough for me to be able to live a lifestyle like this.

See if there is any "trades" colleges near you and get costs for the nvq2 for above and below 10t 360.
If there is none, then there will be plenty of other training centres offering a 5 day course for red card and you will need to do the nvq afterwards.

Don't expect to learn much in the 5 days beside a basic knowledge of using the excavator, then once your shiny new card arrives, approach agencies or sites (if they are willing to take a punt on a red card holder) and get bounced around from site to site till someone is willing to give you a chance, to learn and progress your skills, which is doubtful if agency as they will be charging top whack for the pleasure of you being there

 

[MovingEarth]

See if there is any "trades" colleges near you and get costs for the nvq2 for above and below 10t 360.
If there is none, then there will be plenty of other training centres offering a 5 day course for red card and you will need to do the nvq afterwards.

Don't expect to learn much in the 5 days beside a basic knowledge of using the excavator, then once your shiny new card arrives, approach agencies or sites (if they are willing to take a punt on a red card holder) and get bounced around from site to site till someone is willing to give you a chance, to learn and progress your skills, which is doubtful if agency as they will be charging top whack for the pleasure of you being there

Okay, thanks. Please correct me if I am wrong.. obtain a CSCS card.. do a CPCS Red Card course and then do a NVQ2 to obtain the Blue Card. What does the NVQ2 involve to obtain the Blue Card? I have checked and it seems to be priced around £800 on average. Is this going to be examiners coming out to check on your skills?

What would be a better way of obtaining a Red Card that provides experience because I am not very fond of these quick training schemes, seems to be mostly money grabbers. So it seems to me, the only way would be to approach construction sites and talk directly with the site managers (would those be the best people to talk to?)

 

[Bri963]

Sorry, mate, but if you’re coming in to this game thinking it’s fun, you’ve got a wake-up call coming on sharpish, especially if you think you’ll just dip in and out when it suits. Good luck discussing “inner peace” with some of the hairy a**ed site foremen that proliferate in this industry. Sorry to sound harsh, but at this point you don’t come across as taking this career seriously. If I’m wrong I apologise and I’ll offer such advice as I can, as no doubt everyone else on here will. It can be fun, but not usually until you’ve done your time and won your spurs, which can take years.

 

[MovingEarth]

Sorry, mate, but if you’re coming in to this game thinking it’s fun, you’ve got a wake-up call coming on sharpish, especially if you think you’ll just dip in and out when it suits. Good luck discussing “inner peace” with some of the hairy a**ed site firemen that proliferate in this industry. Sorry to sound harsh, but at this point you don’t come across as taking this career seriously. If I’m wrong I apologise and I’ll offer such advice as I can, as no doubt everyone else on here will. It can be fun, but not usually until you’ve done your time and won your spurs, which can take years.

I am sure it is hard work and I have respect for those who have done it a long time hence why I am on here asking for advice.
The plan is to become good at it so that I would be able to work through agencies on some month's contracts, which I have seen exist plenty in this industry, and people in this sector are quite in demand.

I am not trying to join a company but become self-employed down the line so I don't really need to have any discussions with firemen.
Why does taking a career seriously have to equate to spending my whole life on it? To me, spending your whole life on a job so you can take a couple of weeks off does not make any sense nor would it give me any satisfaction. I am sure there are things you value more than your job, at least I hope.

 

[Brendan]

Okay, thanks. Please correct me if I am wrong.. obtain a CSCS card.. do a CPCS Red Card course and then do a NVQ2 to obtain the Blue Card. What does the NVQ2 involve to obtain the Blue Card? I have checked and it seems to be priced around £800 on average. Is this going to be examiners coming out to check on your skills?

What would be a better way of obtaining a Red Card that provides experience because I am not very fond of these quick training schemes, seems to be mostly money grabbers. So it seems to me, the only way would be to approach construction sites and talk directly with the site managers (would those be the best people to talk to?)

That's your only options college course or crash course or try a local recycling yard they can be lenient on the whole ticket thing.
Pay is not great but you will possibly get to sit on a 360 and pull some levers.
There won't be many construction sites willing to take on someone with zero experience on a 360.
You could try a small site and start as labourer, progress to groundworker and try to get some seat time at some point on a machine if they are happy to show you the ropes

 

[Bri963]

Sorry, meant foremen. Well, to get good you need somewhere to work. Obviously you’re in the industry, so does anyone you work for have a machine? Before you start spending thousands, try to get some seat time to see if you have an aptitude, and spend a bit of time on jobs where machines are working so you can get a realistic idea what’s involved. You might find that you aren’t interested once you try it, on the other hand you might take to it like a duck to water.

 

[Furniss]

Hahahah it can for some I presume. In a world that is full of humans believing that acquiring more equals being more.. it can be achieved by humbling oneself through living and thinking simpler and prioritising human connections. Gratefulness plays a part of it as well, you can have anything in the world but if you cannot be satisfied living simply then you will never be satisfied with anything else, regardless of how much material wealth you can generate.

It would be too easy to take the piss but there is some wisdom in there.

 

[Smiffy]

I am sure it is hard work and I have respect for those who have done it a long time hence why I am on here asking for advice.
The plan is to become good at it so that I would be able to work through agencies on some month's contracts, which I have seen exist plenty in this industry, and people in this sector are quite in demand.

I am not trying to join a company but become self-employed down the line so I don't really need to have any discussions with firemen.
Why does taking a career seriously have to equate to spending my whole life on it? To me, spending your whole life on a job so you can take a couple of weeks off does not make any sense nor would it give me any satisfaction. I am sure there are things you value more than your job, at least I hope.

Tbh to be good enough that you can take large amounts of time off and still be top of the game takes a really really long time.
If you plan on doing 6 months on 6 off you will find that it's 2 steps forward one step back.

Also the type of work your looking for will not mesh with the shift patterns you want.
The best jobs are always from smaller companies doing interesting work.
By and large these companies want full time employees so they can plan there work ahead.
The short contracts you have seen will mostly be large muck shift jobs until you have a really outstanding reputation and have made contacts in the industry.
Muck shifts are usually not the entertaining end of the spectrum.

The only thing I can think of that would give you a good mix is if you can find an agricultural contractor or forestry contractor. There work is more seasonal so may mesh better with your lifestyle, they are also generally more laid back in terms of tickets and I find they offer a more relaxed environment than site work which is generally pretty intense.
And I know a few forestry folk who have a similar view on life to you so you might find it easier to get along with them than the aforementioned site management.

 

[MovingEarth]

Sorry, meant foremen. Well, to get good you need somewhere to work. Obviously you’re in the industry, so does anyone you work for have a machine? Before you start spending thousands, try to get some seat time to see if you have an aptitude, and spend a bit of time on jobs where machines are working so you can get a realistic idea what’s involved. You might find that you aren’t interested once you try it, on the other hand you might take to it like a duck to water.

I would prefer to do it this way too, even if I don't get paid for it.
I worked with a builder who does mainly renovations, done some gardening with a shovel too but otherwise, he does not have big enough jobs to have such machines on site. It seems to be a catch-22.

What was your entry into this industry?

 

[MovingEarth]

Tbh to be good enough that you can take large amounts of time off and still be top of the game takes a really really long time.
If you plan on doing 6 months on 6 off you will find that it's 2 steps forward one step back.

Also the type of work your looking for will not mesh with the shift patterns you want.
The best jobs are always from smaller companies doing interesting work.
By and large these companies want full time employees so they can plan there work ahead.
The short contracts you have seen will mostly be large muck shift jobs until you have a really outstanding reputation and have made contacts in the industry.
Muck shifts are usually not the entertaining end of the spectrum.

The only thing I can think of that would give you a good mix is if you can find an agricultural contractor or forestry contractor. There work is more seasonal so may mesh better with your lifestyle, they are also generally more laid back in terms of tickets and I find they offer a more relaxed environment than site work which is generally pretty intense.
And I know a few forestry folk who have a similar view on life to you so you might find it easier to get along with them than the aforementioned site management.

Forestry/agriculture is actually something I am quite interested in as well. How could I go about finding such people? I assume it would not be anywhere in London right?

 

[JD450A]

Long and short..... Good people don't become good through naff all hours a year, Agencys work rarely gives leeway to learn properly on short term jobs, it's either get on and perform or stay out of it.... Plant is Safety critical, particularly 360' Excavators.... You will not be enjoying or flourishing agency work on a site when the entire gang want to play cricket with a shovel and your head. It's definitely not the way to inner peace etc......

There, Let it never be said I didn't do the Least I could.