There are not 100,000 driving job vacancies. If I was to guess maybe around 30k full time positions currently? Maybe less who knows.
But the way the industry works is it needs extra drivers for peak periods (Xmas) etc. The industry needs spare drivers to fill the gaps when it gets busy.
That’s why in the past on this site (pre-covid) Most of the advice has always been don’t leave a job in January as it is harder to find work. Or your struggling to find work at the moment because the industry is usually quiet at this time.
This happened before covid and brexit.
Also the industry and the RHA love to blow the entire situation out of proportion in order to get extra government funding or for an influx of cheap labor from abroad.
Since most full time contracts are 5 shifts per week - that would suggest it’s even less than the 30k you envisage there - 20k indeed.
Now imagine what happens when a full timer quits very suddenly, and maybe even refuses to work their notice, by going sick during their notice period?
That full timer has put FIVE shifts into the melting pot, which can either be dished out all together as a “full week’s work” to a plum driver at whatever agency, or be split up into 5x1 shifts, meaning 5 drivers actually get some work that week, perhaps because it’s January, and the work is being rationed, and the umbrella can’t charge their £27 on zippo shifts in a week at all, so every effort is made to provide a “token” single shift that the “overheads” can be docked from…
Best way to play it - is to tiptoe around all the pitfalls, and make the job your own - whatever and wherever it happens to be.
If one is considered a “Dodgy Git”, then it may as well be the case that one becomes good at dodging the slings and arrows of outrageous planning – would it not?
My wife and i walked round our local Morrisons yesterday and the shelves were half empty, i never seen that bad. It could be driver shortage/brexit/covid or it could be our favourite green haulier is cocking the job up again
elsa Lad:
My wife and i walked round our local Morrisons yesterday and the shelves were half empty, i never seen that bad. It could be driver shortage/brexit/covid or it could be our favourite green haulier is cocking the job up again
In fairness, Morrisons have always had the crappest distribution system of the major supermarkets and half-empty shelves have been normal for years.
elsa Lad:
My wife and i walked round our local Morrisons yesterday and the shelves were half empty, i never seen that bad. It could be driver shortage/brexit/covid or it could be our favourite green haulier is cocking the job up again
In fairness, Morrisons have always had the crappest distribution system of the major supermarkets and half-empty shelves have been normal for years.
Yes it’s awful. You can tell simply by how stuff is received st a depot and the lack of consolidation (Swan Valley has what… is it three Morriston sites?)
elsa Lad:
My wife and i walked round our local Morrisons yesterday and the shelves were half empty, i never seen that bad. It could be driver shortage/brexit/covid or it could be our favourite green haulier is cocking the job up again
In fairness, Morrisons have always had the crappest distribution system of the major supermarkets and half-empty shelves have been normal for years.
Morrisons is fine if you like cakes and chocolate. 80% of every store seems to be cakes and chocolate. If you want anything else, you’re out of luck.
all the RDCs need to do is stop rejecting “short code” loads then there won’t be a problem. Funny enough, anyone bought crisps recently? they all seem to be soft? the six bags for a quid offers
Morrisons etc etc claim the shortage of Drivers will push up prices............ What they dont say is they have contracted out their transport to the likes of Stobarts Wincanton etc etc who pay mediocre wages or with poor T&Cs compared to "in house" transport and Drivers inevitably dont want to work for them.
bbez:
all the RDCs need to do is stop rejecting “short code” loads then there won’t be a problem. Funny enough, anyone bought crisps recently? they all seem to be soft? the six bags for a quid offers
I did my weekly shop as normal. I go to 4-5 different big name stores as I like different things from different places. Sainsbury’s, Tescos, Aldi & Asda had everything I normally buy, and the shelves were stacked. Home bargin stores had very little with hugh gaps on their shelves. So, what did this tell me, (other than I’m a saddo who spends his precious time off, shopping) that home bargin store drivers are on less money (confirmed by a member of staff I asked) so they can’t get the drivers. But then it reflects the whole picture too. I go there because it’s cheaper, but it’s cheaper because they keep overheads down. ie paying staff less. So when we get our pay increases, we will end up paying more in the shops, and that’s almost a fact!!!
The results are startling. There are 80,000 individuals with a Category C or C + E LGV licence and a current Driver CPC in the crucial 25-44 age group (the most attractive to employers for insurance and medical reasons) who are not currently working as truck drivers.
What’s more, there are 90,000 individuals in the 25-34 age band holding C or C + E licences, but without a current Driver CPC. All they would require would be a week in a classroom without any test or examination, and they too could get behind the wheel of a truck.
I cant find the figures but I heard on the radio that upto 30,000 HGV drivers have left the profession since covid. Either due to covid itself, furlough and deciding they are done driving or just finding out elsewhere or retirement.
There must be over 150k+ people with HGV entitlement who just dont want to drive trucks.
I want to drive trucks because I want to drive trucks.
@DCPCFML: I agree. All the people I know in that age group are active or recent drivers, but they all have valid CPC as of right now. I can’t see anyone doing a licence at this age and not using it afterwards.
I want to drive trucks because I want to drive trucks.
@DCPCFML: I agree. All the people I know in that age group are active or recent drivers, but they all have valid CPC as of right now. I can’t see anyone doing a licence at this age and not using it afterwards.
Well there are ex and current army personnel. I’m not sure on how many the army actually train though.
Then there are the thousands who have been put through apprenticeshis / warehouse to wheels schemes only to find out they can’t hack the job or the hours. I’ve seen 1st hand that this is very common.
LazyDriver:
I did my weekly shop as normal. I go to 4-5 different big name stores as I like different things from different places. Sainsbury’s, Tescos, Aldi & Asda had everything I normally buy, and the shelves were stacked. Home bargin stores had very little with hugh gaps on their shelves. So, what did this tell me, (other than I’m a saddo who spends his precious time off, shopping) that home bargin store drivers are on less money (confirmed by a member of staff I asked) so they can’t get the drivers. But then it reflects the whole picture too. I go there because it’s cheaper, but it’s cheaper because they keep overheads down. ie paying staff less. So when we get our pay increases, we will end up paying more in the shops, and that’s almost a fact!!!
Home bargains…
Last week I arrived at their Liverpool RDC two hours late, having notified the office of delays on both the M5 and M6.
I was told by security, to wait off site, for a phone call to come in when they had a slot. This was 16.00hr. I waited till 1500hr next day (obviously had a daily rest ), when I was pulled out and returned to base.
Not the first time. They cant cope withe the volumes, because of staff shortage both drivers and warehouse.
I wonder which one of the big cheapies (Homebargain, B&M etc)will go first?
There are surely thousands of HGV2 drivers that do things like deliver steel or work for quarries that a local supermarket could sponsor to do their class one or give refresher training to if they already have a class one if they don’t have one and pay their current drivers a few quid more and put them on a 4 on 4 off rota if they aren’t on one already, that would probably fix some of the problem. But it might cost a few quid though…
pub
), when I was pulled out and returned to base.
