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CATCH-22 FOR NEW DRIVERS
Page 3
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Every week Commercial Motor receives letters heavy with frustration. pain and uncertainty from newly qualified drivers of all ages who have invested thousands on gaining their LGV licences because they had heard there was a skills shortage. These people do all the smart things.
They invest in themselves, they move where the work is, at least on paperso why the pain and uncertainty? Because none of them can get jobs. Why not? Because they have no experience. Operators turn them down, agencies turn them down and they write to us asking where the skills shortage is. We're all familiar with the Catch-22 of employment: no experience, no job: no job, no experience.
This is a long standing problem and ifs stood so long its high time somebody knocked it down. Road transport is an ageing industry. Our driver pool is getting older and. while ifs fortunate that Eastern Europe is supplying us with experienced people. we neglect home-grown talent at our peril.
We must catch these newly qualified drivers for the industry and give them jobs before they despair and go somewhere else for work, because we do. and will continue to, need them. The economic climate may be tough but we simply don't have all the professional drivers we require to shift the 1,831 million tonnes of freight we moved last year.
"Most say they are reluctant to use agency drivers but can't survive without them
This is an industry of contradictions and paradoxes. Operators need new, young workers but won't take them on. Most say they are reluctant to use agency drivers but can't survive without them. Individually we are all loyal to and protective of the professionalism displayed within the industry, yet collectively our recruitment policies are reactionary and short sighted.
Lets solve this. As we announced recently. Commercial Motor is committed to working with the Road Haulage Association to create a forum for operators on managing agency drivers but we need to widen the debate. We need to find a way to give newly qualified drivers that all important experience, safely and cost-effectively. We everyone from driver agencies to operators, and trade associations need to work together and prepare the way for the next generation of talent.