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• "There won't be an area in transport we won't be able to provide training for by 199L" claims Rebecca Jenkins, new group managing director of the Bristol-based transport operation, Peter Lane Group, "Companies are recognising training as an essential part of their development. They understand if they are to reach their own and their employees' objectives, new skills must be taught," says Jenkins who is the daughter of group chairman Peter Lane.
In response, Jenkins plans to open a new training centre next to the existing site at Portbury in Bristol. It will be operating from early next year and will offer Hazpak, Hazfreight and management training as well as courses on lorrymounted cranes. These will run alongside existing ones on HGV, forklift truck driving, defensive driving techniques and the Certificate of Professional Competence course. The five current instructors will be doubled by 1991 to handle the extra courses.
But it's not just adult education that Jenkins is interested in. She is also encouraging school children to consider transport as a viable career by arranging regular visits to Peter Lane's headquarters.
Many of the children have never even considered the transport industry for potential careers.
"When 1 asked one group what they expected Peter Lane's Portbury premises to be like they said 'dirty, with lots of notes hanging on the walls'. After their visit I asked what they thought a computer firm would be like, and they replied just like Peter Lane. This shows that we need to push the profile of the industry up," says Jenkins.
She is afraid that unless the "dirty rag" image disappears there will not be an increase in young recruits.
Jenkins originally joined the transport industry at the age of 21 and after a six-month stint as an HGV driver she moved into sales. Today, at the age of 29, she has progressed to group managing director at Peter Lane responsible for 250 staff, 140 trucks and three transport depots.
Another way she plans to attract more young people to Peter Lane is with the fiveyear Young Driver Training Scheme. Three students have just completed the training, which Jenkins says overcomes the problem drivers face when trying to get work with an HGV licence and little experience. She is also working with the industrial Society to hold HGV1 courses with a guaranteed interview for the unemployed at the end.
Jenkins also intends to de velop the group's transport staff agency, PL Workforce, which has more than 100 qualified drivers on its books. She aims to expand from four UK sites to eight or 10 in the next three years. Each depot will have about 30 drivers.
As well as developing personnel she wants to "grow the company aggressively". She is aiming for a 30% increase in the group's £8m turnover this year, which is in line with the previous two years.
But Jenkins stresses any growth, which will almost certainly be organic, will not harm the 25-year-old company's commitment to quality. The group is currently undergoing a programme for attaining British Standard BS5750.
"If we give the level of service and commitment customers want we will win more business," she says.
LJuliet Parish