Think big
Page 18
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
For years operators have been complaining that they couldn't attract high-quality men to driving jobs. I've never really gone along with that view, believing that it takes a highly intelligent man to cope with the intricacies of local delivery work, the efficient driving of modern longdistance trunk artics, or the complexities of Continental operation.
But, you know, the door was never closed to the intelligent man — and Edgar Williams, one of the pioneers in this field of employment, has recently proved it again. Even before the £40 40-hour week agreements were negotiated, Edgar advertised in a local North Wales paper for trainee drivers; and one of the qualifications demanded was reasonable 0-levels.
The result was 56 suitably qualified applicants, some with eight O's others with four A's and one with a higher national diploma. Already six of these "academics" are under driver training and two are on management training courses.
Boom to gloom
The backlog in British car and truck order books has cushioned the effect of the market thud over here, but the stories from the States are really haircurling. It has been made all the worse for the Americans because they had been enjoying such a sales boom — 1973 was an all-time record for car sales in the USA, and truck sales have been running at around 3½m annually. • Now the big car makers are laying off tens of thousands of men, shutting down plants for extended periods and hoping that the economies will see them through the next two tough years. My guess is that when things improve they'll be looking at ways of deriving more of their revenue from the commercial vehicle side of the