CIRCULAR TRAP
Page 24
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Having just read your article "in short supply" ( CM 16-22 Nov) I felt compelled to write in reply.
I am 51 years old, and have been driving for a living since the age of 17.
Earlier this year I obtained my Class 1 and 2 licence which cost me more than £1,400. Following this I applied to more than 16 companies advertising for drivers, in addition to several employment agencies, only to be informed that I needed to have at least two years' practical experience specified by insurance companies.
Only one agency agreed to take me on, but offered the minimum rate, and the work was spasmodic.
A small company has finally employed me, but only because I know the owner.
Your article emphasised the huge shortage of HGV drivers, but nowhere did it mention that newly qualified drivers needed this experience.
This is a classic Catch-22 situation. How can drivers be expected to gain this valuable experience if prospective employers won't hire them? Paul Kelly, Bury, Lanes.