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Need drivers?
Page 10
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Grow your own
• Five West Midland hauliers are to trial a new scheme aimed at easing driver shortages by turning their own employees into qualified driving instructors.
The in-house instructors will teach fellow employees how to drive a truck as well as people who are completely new to road transport.
The Road Haulage & Distribution Training Council, which will manage the government-funded project, says the instructors will have to meet standards set by the Driving Standards Agency.
David Orrell, the council's newly-appointed training programmes manager, says people new to road transport as well as people who already work for a haulage company and want to become a driver are likely to benefit because driving instructors will be easier to find. "This will form part of the solution to driver shortages which is an escalating problem for the industry."
He adds that existing drivers may also use the instructors to upgrade their skills.
The scheme is being piloted by TNT UK, Hampson Haulage, S Jones (Transport), Birds Groupage and Uniloads.
Paul Robinson, transport manager of Aldridge-based S Jones (Transport), says it will use the scheme for retraining existing drivers. "If you can train a driver to drive better, you can save money on things like fuel consumption and tyres as well as improve their courtesy."