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ihe new recruits
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dthough a regular in the classified ad sections of the tabloids, :learstone has always been a relative unknown to us.
kridy Salter meets up with VD Chris Philps to find out more...
Fhe back streets of Camden in North London aren't the most obvious location for a company supplying drivers to the lad transport industry, but Clearstone isn't an .dinary training and recruitment company. any readers will have seen the company's lverts in the national press offering the chance train to be a truck driver. Clearstone arranges e necessary training and will seek to find the :wly trained drivers jobs in the industry.
It's a simple answer to the UK driver short;e: Clearstone markets to potential recruits in e sector,sells them a training package through . network of approved training companies, en finds them work. Thanks to a deal with oydsTSB,Clearstone can even sort out loans finance applicants training.
"Attracting new blood to the industry is i age-old problem," says Clearstone joint MD iris Philps. "We've attempted to get to the ot of the recruitment issue by attracting new ivers. Agencies are often just recycling the ivers that already exist.
"Our analysis tells us there are four million !ople in the UK on a salary of less than 6,000. We also know there's a major driver ortage in the UK. Our offer recruits those people to the ranks, trains them, then finds them jobs."
The advertising in the national press generates an average of 3,0(X) enquiries a month, from which Philps reckons there's a 15% takeup. "The standard cost for a training package is £999, which buys a five-day training course through our nationwide network of DSA instructors," he explains. "We've built a strong base of blue-chip clients, including Exel, TNT and Gist, which have a need for new drivers. We'll then find the new recruits a job at one of these companies.
However, there are plenty of people in this sector throwing mud at Clearstone, claiming it is little more than a sales and marketing operation with no interest in the road transport sector or in ensuring that its recruits' skill levels meet the needs of the industry.
We've no measurable means of testing these assertions, though in Clearstone's defence we've spoken to many of its clients and most are satisfied with the calibre of the candidates Clearstone is putting forward.
Earlier this year Ian Green became the 1 .000th truck driver to be trained and placed in a permanent job in the industry by Clearstone and the company is now well on the way to hitting the 2,000 mark. -Clearstone made it easy for me to get trained and found me a permanent job at the end of it,says Green. "It couldn't have been easier. I expect the other 999 drivers will have gone through much the same experience and I'd encourage anyone to do the same, whether they want to earn more money or need a change of scene."
Rooted in the industry Chris Philps founded Clearstone with fellow MD Sam Gyimah, and while the pair are a couple of entrepreneurial high-flyers, Philps in particular has a sound knowledge of the road transport business.
He co-founded distribution company Blueheath in 2000, which was in itself an innovative solution to distribution. " B ineheath was a low-cost distribution company serving garage forecourts and other convenience stores," he reports. "We drove as much cost out of the business as possible through a highly automated ordering process:stock holding was reduced to two days and deliveries were carried out by the British Bakeries fleet — increasing their fleet utilisation and giving us a nationwide network." Blueheath was floated on the alternative investment market in 2004 for 100m.
Philps spends a lot of time with operators to ensure Clearstone meets the needs of the market. "I was in a meeting with an operator a few weeks ago and in the course of 45 minutes he had 26 calls on his mobile," he says.
"They are extremely busy people and we're focused on filling the gaps in the market and making their lives easier."
Problems from overseas
Up to 98% of Clearstone's new recruits are from the UK. While the company has investigated drawing new entrants in from further afield, Philps admits there have been some problems" with this. So for now, at least, the focus is on recruits from closer to home.
Clearstone will be expanding its marketing to widen the net, and is also looking to incorporate transport manager CPC training into a management-training offer aimed at companies.
Our recruitment offering reaches beyond drivers," Philps explains, "and we're aiming to supply a complete solution to the road transport industry. We're in a position to ensure we're able to provide training at the lowest possible price in a sector where margins are constantly under pressure, and that has to be an attractive proposition.'.