Very concise from the Times, better than the usual daily mail sensationalist, scaremongering BS.
Plambert:
“Will Tarquin and Porsche get their pressies in time?”How and why does this become a class issue?
Because Jayden’s Christmas thick lip, off his mother’s latest drunken boyfriend, probably won’t get delivered by lorry.
tango boy:
Don’t panic the east europeans are coming
Sadly true mate,I saw a large haulier advertising for a transport planner that preferably spoke both English and Polish last week.
yorkshire terrier:
tango boy:
Don’t panic the east europeans are comingSadly true mate,I saw a large haulier advertising for a transport planner that preferably spoke both English and Polish last week.
But unlike last time, the East Europeans have other countries to go and work in, including their own.
Speaking to my brother last week, he’s just had a pay rise, and the company he works for has loads they can’t find anybody to shift at weekends, including subbies or agency drivers. And they have 5 trucks they can’t get permanent drivers for. Another company doing the same work has even more trucks they can’t get permanent drivers for.
A similar thing was posted here a while ago, basically the industry are doing their pr bit, hopping for Government funding, but it’s the industry that has lacked the foresight to train drivers, it’s the industry that has changed working practices, that mean driver feel undervalued, for many large logistics companies drivers aren’t people just figures on a spreadsheet, to be used to the maximum efficiency regardless of work life balance. No wonder so many have left the industry even after spending many thousands on training.
The government will pay lip service to the haulage industry, and see it as an opportunity to reduce long term unemployed figures by offering training, many of those will never want to work let alone do the hours of a truck driver. And no doubt they will further reduce the image we have in the eyes of the public.
alcraw62:
Start paying a decent wage which will allow drivers to make a living without having to work 60/70/80+ hours per week and you might just attract people into the industry.
As long as drivers continue to accept that you have to work stupid hours to compensate for a low hourly rate of pay, then it’s just not going to happen - people will look elsewhere for work. This is 2014, and we are still in Victorian times when it comes to working hours. The restrictions on drivers hours are supposed to be a maximum; not a target! Thank God for tachographs or it would be even worse.
^^^^ This
It does make me smile how one minute we are the curse of the blue rinse brigade, then they are (apparently) going to be upset because their precious Xmas deliveries won’t be on time!
Let’s go for 15 quid an hour day rate basic, time and half after 8 and add 25% for nights…
Not enough entering the industry. Not surprising at 7 quid odd an hour on class 1 is it?
Own Account Driver:
Have no idea what you’re trying to say - I’m assuming that they should have sorted DCPC for their drivers?If so this is not the issue at all as all current drivers have it.
That’s exactly what I was “trying to say.” Well spotted. If many operators and agencies had shown a bit more foresight, and not expected drivers to have paid for the CPC themselves, there might be a few more “current drivers” about who had not retired/jacked in and the industry bodies and agencies wouldn’t now be bleating about their oh-so-terrible problems.
Still, it’s about the usual amount of forward planning evident in the haulage world.
Muckles has nailed the point.
A similar thing was posted here a while ago, basically the industry are doing their pr bit, hopping for Government funding, but it’s the industry that has lacked the foresight to train drivers, it’s the industry that has changed working practices, that mean driver feel undervalued, for many large logistics companies drivers aren’t people just figures on a spreadsheet, to be used to the maximum efficiency regardless of work life balance. No wonder so many have left the industry even after spending many thousands on training.
The government will pay lip service to the haulage industry,
and see it as an opportunity to reduce long term unemployed figures by offering training, many of those will never want to work - let alone do the hours of a truck driver.
And no doubt they will further reduce the image we have in the eyes of the public.
This ^^^
…and this >>
Don’t panic the east europeans are coming 
With their Transit size type Luton vans 
.
.
Guess this leaves an opportunity for a void to be filled by the `Van sector’ market , growth for a short-term period.
measures to overcome the driver shortage
I. Increase velocity. The speed limit on A roads is increased by 25%
ii. Increase carrying capacity. Proposals for increasing vehicle length to 18.5m. In cricket the ball is bowled over only 17.68m
iii. Increase weight
iv. Employ drivers who don’t speak English and are not experienced in driving on the left (no offence intended)
v. Increase drivers hours. Few other road users know that the wagon in their mirror could be driven by someone who has worked for fifteen hours after taking a 9 hour break after having worked for the previous 9 hours.
vi. Issue convicts with HGV licences
vii Improve drivers pay and conditi…no. sorry, I’m getting a bit fanciful here
All I see here is ANOTHER press release from the usual suspects, RHA, FTA, and agencies, to try and convince people to get trained and join the transport industry. The same stories appear every year. Their motive is simple, and has nothing to do with driver shortages - the FTA and RHA represent the employers and the agencies are employers…and the more drivers they have to choose from, the less they have to pay. Supply and demand rules.
can i ask. if your a agency driver , did that agency pay for your dcpc or did you have to fund it yourselves? because as far as i can see it’s the agencies that have made a rod for there own backs by not supplying there staff with sufficent training therefore dropping themselves in the proverbial.
fingers:
can i ask. if your a agency driver , did that agency pay for your dcpc or did you have to fund it yourselves? because as far as i can see it’s the agencies that have made a rod for there own backs by not supplying there staff with sufficent training therefore dropping themselves in the proverbial.
Agency driver here. Paid the lot myself. They did offer to pay for it up front, and then take it back off your weekly pay (actually, thanks to the Scottish Government I qualified for a £200 grant towards the cost of DCPC as I earn less than £22k per year, so only had to find £150). Same for level D aviation security which I have just done too (£90), in the hope that I can get some shifts a bit closer to where I live.
fingers:
can i ask. if your a agency driver , did that agency pay for your dcpc or did you have to fund it yourselves? because as far as i can see it’s the agencies that have made a rod for there own backs by not supplying there staff with sufficent training therefore dropping themselves in the proverbial.
I was put through 3 days by an agency I used to do work for.
I have seen messages from other agencies offering to put the “Retired” drivers through the full 5 days for free in exchange for a minimum hours agreement
Even wading through all the agency bluff and BS there does seem to be a little bit of panic by agencies more than usual this year… Although the proof of the pudding will come in Jan and Feb I will make sure my Tarquin & Porscha have their desired crimbo presents in plenty of time by going a bit ‘old school’ and walking in to a shop with my cash and walking out with their desired present of choice.
Sheer madness I know but my days of relying on Amazon mid December to deliver in time are long gone.
That said if its massively cheaper on tinternet we may have a bonus Christmas day early Jan and the buggers can have an orange and lump of coal like me grandpappy used to have back in the good old days…
Olog Hai:
Own Account Driver:
Have no idea what you’re trying to say - I’m assuming that they should have sorted DCPC for their drivers?If so this is not the issue at all as all current drivers have it.
That’s exactly what I was “trying to say.” Well spotted. If many operators and agencies had shown a bit more foresight, and not expected drivers to have paid for the CPC themselves, there might be a few more “current drivers” about who had not retired/jacked in and the industry bodies and agencies wouldn’t now be bleating about their oh-so-terrible problems.
Still, it’s about the usual amount of forward planning evident in the haulage world.
Muckles has nailed the point.
Employers can’t lay on training for people that don’t work for them though.
It is governments fault and not hauliers the original DCPC is very clear that the aim was to establish independent training schools and colleges, paid for by drivers themselves, and it not be on the job style training. Employers were broadly forced into paying and organising it due to the poor implementation.
sayersy:
All I see here is ANOTHER press release from the usual suspects, RHA, FTA, and agencies, to try and convince people to get trained and join the transport industry. The same stories appear every year. Their motive is simple, and has nothing to do with driver shortages - the FTA and RHA represent the employers and the agencies are employers…and the more drivers they have to choose from, the less they have to pay. Supply and demand rules.
Are many agencies members of the FTA or RHA?
It’s the governments mess, and their fault, and they should fix it. They introduced DCPC that’s encouraged so many to retire and they also introduced the minimum wage which ever since driver’s wages have been sucked closer and closer to it.
See all the comments about long hours. They are part of the job get over it or get a new job
Own Account Driver:
It’s the governments mess, and their fault, and they should fix it. They introduced DCPC that’s encouraged so many to retire and they also introduced the minimum wage which ever since driver’s wages have been sucked closer and closer to it.
This has been coming far longer than the DCPC has been around, the average age of drivers has been increasing as fewer young driver come into the industry, I remember reading articles about this in the truck press about 1996, then about 10 years ago there were articles about how to encourage more women into the industry to fill the shortfall, but nothing has really been done leaving a dwindling pool of drivers as those already in it leave to take other work, leave on medical grounds or retire. The inevitable was postponed for a few years, due to influx of East European drivers and then a down turn in the economy. But things are picking up, East European drivers have other Countries to chose from, and the DCPC has just been the last piece of the jigsaw.
And despite the years of forecasts that this would happen, the industry has sat there ignoring the problem, hoping something would turn up, maybe this time it will or maybe it won’t,
maybe the Goverment will start a scheme to train all those illegal immigrants in Calais to drive trucks, after all they have interest in trucks can open a trailer and can find their way across vast distances, without needing to phone the office, which makes them far better qualified than some drivers I know.
taffytrucker:
See all the comments about long hours. They are part of the job get over it or get a new job
I think that’s the problem, too many have gone and got other jobs.
taffytrucker:
See all the comments about long hours. They are part of the job get over it or get a new job
People like you are the very reason why the job is f***ed. Work 80 hours a week for £8 per hour? That will be right. Work to live, not the other way round!
There are three ways to work:
If you’ve got a good hourly rate, and overtime - then grab as many hours as you legally and safely can - to build that nestegg.
If you’re hourly rate is only “average” - then refuse to work more than average hours at it! Average to me is 35-40 a week @ £10.00 - but this is is currently under review! 
If your hourly rate is “low” - then do as few hours as possible (I suggest 30 ), and take the damned top-ups like the immigrants do. Unlike them - you’ve paid into the system for years, so should be in front of the queue - right?