Short supply of drivers could affect Christmas deliveries
7 October 2014
Santa’s little helpers – also known as delivery drivers – are in short supply and an industry body is concerned Christmas deliveries could be affected.
Tue, 7 Oct 2014 | By Sarah Marquet
Santa’s little helpers – also known as delivery drivers – are in short supply and an industry body is concerned Christmas deliveries could be affected.
Freight Transport Association skills policy development manager Sally Gilson told Recruiter anecdotal evidence showed some agencies were having to turn down up to 200 jobs a week due to lack of qualified drivers to complete the work.
“As we are only at the start of the Christmas period, this will only get worse,” Gilson said.
She added that because most hauliers, supermarkets and such companies rely on agency staff at Christmas, the shortage would delay deliveries. And if the shortage continues to worsen, all areas of delivery could be hit.
“With the increase of internet shopping, home deliveries will inevitably start to be affected,” she said.
It’s not a new problem either, she said. “This is a situation that has been going on year-on-year and was probably delayed due to the recession.
“If the skills shortage is not tackled then this will have serious implications long term on logistics – not just at Christmas.”
She said 90% of the association’s members were recruiting drivers or looking to recruit in the near future.
New regulations around training for heavy goods vehicle (HGV) drivers, an ageing workforce, a quicker than anticipated upturn in the economy, and fewer licence applications leading to fewer recruits were behind the shortage.
She said there were 7k fewer licence applications per year over the last five years, meaning 35k fewer recruits.
Michael Page Logistics managing director Jonathan Abell told Recruiter: “Although Michael Page does not specifically recruit for drivers as part of our logistics offering, it is a no-brainer to see that the skills shortage in the transport and logistics industry becomes much more prominent, particularly leading up to Christmas.”
He agreed the new regulation was a contributing factor that “greatly impacts the retention of experienced drivers”.
Gilson said as the industry was so reliant on an older workforce, more needed to be done to engage with young people. She said those undertaking vocational training should be entitled to student loans to help cover costs as gaining a HGV licence was expensive.
She also added that “the logistics sector is now high tech, HGVs have changed greatly over the past decade and it no longer needs brawn to drive one; therefore this should open the market up to more female drivers”.
Freight Transport Association skills policy development manager Sally Gilson told Recruiter anecdotal evidence showed some agencies were having to turn down up to 200 jobs a week due to lack of qualified drivers to complete the work.
“As we are only at the start of the Christmas period, this will only get worse,” Gilson said.
She added that because most hauliers, supermarkets and such companies rely on agency staff at Christmas, the shortage would delay deliveries. And if the shortage continues to worsen, all areas of delivery could be hit.
“With the increase of internet shopping, home deliveries will inevitably start to be affected,” she said.
It’s not a new problem either, she said. “This is a situation that has been going on year-on-year and was probably delayed due to the recession.
“If the skills shortage is not tackled then this will have serious implications long term on logistics – not just at Christmas.”
She said 90% of the association’s members were recruiting drivers or looking to recruit in the near future.
New regulations around training for heavy goods vehicle (HGV) drivers, an ageing workforce, a quicker than anticipated upturn in the economy, and fewer licence applications leading to fewer recruits were behind the shortage.
She said there were 7k fewer licence applications per year over the last five years, meaning 35k fewer recruits.
Michael Page Logistics managing director Jonathan Abell told Recruiter: “Although Michael Page does not specifically recruit for drivers as part of our logistics offering, it is a no-brainer to see that the skills shortage in the transport and logistics industry becomes much more prominent, particularly leading up to Christmas.”
He agreed the new regulation was a contributing factor that “greatly impacts the retention of experienced drivers”.
Gilson said as the industry was so reliant on an older workforce, more needed to be done to engage with young people. She said those undertaking vocational training should be entitled to student loans to help cover costs as gaining a HGV licence was expensive.
She also added that “the logistics sector is now high tech, HGVs have changed greatly over the past decade and it no longer needs brawn to drive one; therefore this should open the market up to more female drivers”.
- Want to comment on this story? The Comment box is at the bottom of the page. Sorry for the glitch but just scroll right down and share your opinions!
