Ease up on driver requirements Words: Lindsey Kerins WHENEVER I
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MEET a potential new client to discuss the supply of agency drivers, I can guarantee I will be given the same instructions: must have held their licence for more than two years; must have at least 180 days of commercial driving during the past six months; and must have no more than six minor points (ie SP30s) on their licence.
I am told this is because of restrictions imposed on them by insurance companies. However, these requirements are also given by clients who self-insure. So how do we attract newly qualified drivers and ex-military drivers?
Bad habits When I raise the possibility of recruiting newly qualified drivers/ ex-military drivers who are keen to learn, and don't have the bad habits of some experienced drivers, clients say no, as they are concerned about ability and insurance.
Statistics reveal that 16% of the industry is aged 60 and above,1% of LGV drivers are under the age of 25, and that drivers retiring over the next five years will leave a need to replace an expected 48,000 drivers.
Induction process Last month, Search Consultancy held a forum in the North West, cohosted by senior traffic commissioner Beverley Bell, where opera tors debated critical issues. An insurance broker told delegates that where an operator has a robust induction process covering all key criteria regarding health and safety, and compliance, most insurance companies would not increase their policy/excess, or premiums.
So what's stopping us — as operators and agencies — in working in partnership to tackle this?
Another point we brought to the forum was agency driver inductions. Clients often ask me to get a selection of drivers to attend a fullday (unpaid) induction, which allows the client to have a pool of inducted drivers they can call on.
Many drivers feel it is unfair to ask them to have to give up a day's pay to attend an induction without any guarantee from the agency or client that they will be given a shift. Agency drivers tell me they can be asked to attend up to five unpaid inductions in a month, amounting to a week's pay they are missing. When we reviewed a number of induction booklets our clients use to induct drivers, we noticed that they all go through the same topics.
Partnership passport Working in partnership with operators including Asda, DIAL, Stobart, Pepsico and Tesco, we are looking to pilot an Induction Passport allowing operators to agree a generic induction covering key topics, allowing the driver to be valid for work at a number of clients throughout the North West.
We are also looking to link this to a Driver CPC module, offering drivers seven hours of training and one module towards their driver qualification card. Anyone interested in joining the working group should contact findsey.kerins@search.co.uk • Lindsey Kerins is manager of driving and industrial division (North West) at driver recruitment firm Search Consultancy.