Will the Christmas Rush Provide Fresh Opportunities for Recruits to Trucking?

Every year, truck transport generates £74 billion a year for the UK economy.

Employing more than 2 million drivers across countless industries, they are the backbone of our economy and perhaps more so than ever during the season of present buying en-masse.

The problem is though that to cope with the demands of Christmas, drivers are going to be pushed to their absolute limits without adequate numbers to cater to the demand of the public. Labelled as a ‘ticking time bomb’ by MP’s last year, not enough new drivers are being trained up to take the place of those retiring from the roads. Institutions with specific knowledge of the industry estimate that 60,000 fresh applicants will be needed to balance out the supply of drivers with the needs of the market, and that’s just before the seasonal rush.

Until now, drivers of an Eastern European background made up a significant number of those traversing Britain’s motorways. With around £20,000 as a starting salary and strong job security, trucking is a valuable prospect to many immigrants who can make their fortune away from home. As the costs of training prove prohibitive to many British nationals who otherwise would consider truck driving an option, we are increasingly becoming more reliant on migration.

But as with everything else seemingly in the country, Brexit looks poised to uproot the old order of things. With the ramifications of the vote in June yet to pan out, the status of migrant workers in the UK remains unclear and we are no longer quite as attractive a destination as we once were. The Road Haulage Association has gone public with their findings that numerous drivers have left for the mainland after Brexit, and Berry Recruitment’s Managing Director Lee Gamble labelled 2016 as ‘the worst year I have known for finding drivers’.

So then whilst the full resources of the trucking world are set to be mustered throughout December, could there be a silver lining? The many critiques of the current predicament has done more to generate awareness of the opportunities truck driving offers, especially amongst those who might not usually be found in such a role.

With only 3% of drivers from a minority background and females massively under-represented at just 8%, there is a lot of room for new members to join the field. Nearly 90% of all items for sale in the UK will require transport by truck, lorry or other form of HGV at some point in their journey to the consumer so it’s not as if there isn’t a constant need for fresh faces!

To avoid a repeat of this year in the future and even before the tumult of the summer, the Government has taken council over how to resolve the issue. One of the biggest takeaways from this consultation is that not enough is yet to be done over training and developing new staff, with 59.4% of haulage firms spending less than 10% of their costs on this crucial area. Largely down to the cost of acquiring a HGV licence (which can be around £4000 per person), perhaps some kind of subsidy for training could emerge?

Seeing as there has been numerous complaints over the lack of on-road facilities for long-haul delivery drivers, this could be another avenue of exploration for both public and private companies. Whilst it may require a solid initial investment, you know that there would be a continuous flow of users willing to put money into these amenities.

Regardless of whatever actions may be taken, the shortage of truckers is a solvable issue. It’s a career that doesn’t require excessive academic qualifications to enter, but can leave members with some very valuable ones after years of work. There’s always going to be a need for new and experienced recruits of all ages, so here’s to hoping awareness of such opportunities can spread to benefit all of us.