Give 'em a chance
Page 9
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Our lead story on driver 44.1
recruitment this week (see page 4) is excellent news for an industry hard-pressed to find the staff it needs—if the RH DTC really can find 20,000 extra drivers a year for the next five years, it will be a major help. But there is more to solving the driver crisis than simply finding new drivers: you also have to find them jobs.
No problem, you might think. But the sad fact is that you could recruit and train a million new drivers tomorrow and make little or no difference to the current driver crisis. Why? Because of the two years' experience demanded by so many employers in the industry CM constantly hears from new drivers frustrated by this refusal to give them chance, and that includes experienced agency drivers whose experience just isn't deemed "appropriate". Until employers start giving these people the experience they undoubtedly need to become true professionals, this situation can only worsen.
We know it costs money. We know it costs time. But before you turn away the next new or agency driver to approach your business, think twice. Because unless the industry starts helping itself today, we all stand to suffer more tomorrow,
• From next week our cover price increases to fi.7o. The good news is that we will be giving you more than ever before for your money as we are increasing our editorial pagination AND restructuring our classified pages to make them easier and clearer for you to use. We hope you like the changes—and remember, CM will help keep your business profitable, professional and legal. Not bad for £1.70 a week !