Thinking about HGV training for women, and wondering whether you would be the only one there? You would not. Loads of like-minded women have trained with Metcalfe’s Driver Training and come away with a licence. There is no separate ladies’ course here, and no special treatment either. There is just Andy, the same lorry, and the same straight-talking instruction that everybody else gets.

Why HGV training for women is worth a serious look

Here is a statistic that surprises most people. Women pass their HGV test at a higher rate than men do. In the most recent breakdown published by the DVSA, 62.4% of female candidates passed, compared with 58.7% of male candidates. Among drivers aged 20 to 29, the female pass rate climbed to 67.9%, which was the highest of any group measured.

Yet women still make up only one to two percent of Britain’s working lorry drivers. Therefore the gap has nothing to do with ability. It comes down to how few women ever get told this is an option in the first place. Meanwhile the haulage industry is short of drivers and the existing workforce is ageing fast, so employers are keener than ever to take on new people who can drive well.

What HGV training for women looks like at Metcalfe’s

Honestly, it looks exactly like the training everybody else gets. You turn up, you get in the lorry, and Andy teaches you to drive it properly. He has been doing this for years and he is patient without being patronising, which is usually the thing women tell us they were worried about beforehand.

There is no female instructor here, and we would rather say so upfront than let you find out on the day. What there is instead is a long track record of getting women through their test, plus an instructor who treats every learner the same regardless of who walks through the door. For most people that turns out to matter more.

Courses run one-to-one, so you are never sharing the cab with a group of strangers. Because of that, the pace follows you rather than the slowest person in a class. If something needs going over three times, then it gets gone over three times.

You will not be the first woman through the door

Plenty of women have passed with Metcalfe’s, and more come through every year. Some came straight from a car licence, while others already drove vans or 7.5 tonne lorries and wanted to step up. A few were changing career completely after years doing something else entirely.

Which licence should you start with?

Most people begin with Category C, which the industry still calls Class 2. That covers rigid lorries over 7.5 tonnes and it is the standard entry point. Afterwards you can add Category C+E, or Class 1, which is the artic. You can read the official licence categories on the GOV.UK guide to driving lorries if you want the formal version.

Alternatively, if a full HGV feels like a big first step, then 7.5 tonne training is a gentler place to start. If it is an ambulance you have your eye on rather than a lorry, our ambulance driver training for women page covers the C1 route instead. Some people also come to us purely for B+E trailer training so they can tow a caravan or a horsebox legally. Once you know which route suits you, our Class 2 HGV course page covers what the training itself involves.

How the process actually works

Before you can book HGV training for women or anyone else, there are two admin jobs to get out of the way. First, you apply for provisional lorry entitlement using a D2 form, which comes with a D4 medical that your GP or a private clinic completes. The medical is straightforward for most people, although it does check eyesight and general health.

Next comes the theory test. It has two parts, namely a multiple-choice paper and a hazard perception clip test. Plenty of people revise for it on an app during the evenings, so it rarely holds anyone up for long.

After that the driving starts, and that is where Andy takes over. Training usually runs across consecutive days rather than weekly hour-long lessons, because intensive practice suits lorry driving far better. Finally you sit the practical test, which includes a reversing exercise and an on-road drive.

Where Andy covers

Metcalfe’s Driver Training operates out of Skipton and covers a wide patch across both sides of the Pennines. Learners travel in regularly from Leeds, Bradford, Huddersfield, Halifax, Harrogate and Keighley. Over in Lancashire, we take people from Burnley, Blackburn, Preston, Clitheroe and Accrington too, while some travel over from Blackpool.

If your town is not on that list, ring anyway. Skipton sits within reasonable reach of most of West Yorkshire, North Yorkshire and East Lancashire, so we can usually help.