Round up the troops
Page 2
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One of my earliest memories is being taken to Plymouth Hoe to see the name of my great-grandfather on the War Memorial overlooking the harbour. He died in service during the First World War.
I was reminded of this on seeing the news that some 4,100 RAF, Royal Navy and Army personnel were made redundant this week. Britain was built on the back of our armed forces and to see these men and women lose their jobs is heartbreaking. But the UK haulage industry can throw them a lifeline. How many of those made redundant this week can drive an LGV? And how many would want to – in order to pay the bills and keep a roof over their families’ heads?
Admittedly the life of a driver may not be for everyone, but jobs could equally be found in warehousing, transport planning and fleet engineering for ex-military personnel. There has been a lot of talk recently about a driver shortage, and even more about the ways in which it can be tackled. If there is a labour gap to be filled in the medium to long term, then perhaps operators and bodies such as Skills for Logistics should be targeting this pool of skilled individuals. The industry has a great opportunity to make itself the employer of choice for ex-forces personnel.
Some who enter service don’t have the chance to build a career if, or when, they come out the other side (as my great-grandfather shows). The Drivers’ Occupational Craft Skills Group (see p6) has the chance to make it happen and we urge all operators to get on board.
Christopher Walton